Ponchatoula cop found dead in patrol car had severe heart problems, police chief says

PONCHATOULA – A Ponchatoula city police officer who was found dead in her patrol car was under medical treatment for heart problems and had an 80 percent blockage in one of her arteries, the city’s police chief said in an interview Wednesday.

Cpl. Pricilla Dean Pierson had just turned 44. She was found unconscious in her unit outside a Rouses grocery store on Ponchatoula’s west side Tuesday morning. Foul play was not suspected, and Chief Bry Layrisson said Wednesday she had several health issues.

He told WBRZ that she had been having problems with her blood pressure, had recently been given a monitor to monitor her heart health while she slept, and that she was suffering from a significant blockage in an artery.

The funeral ceremony has not yet been determined.

“We will have the largest and most significant memorial service the city has ever had,” Layrisson said. Her patrol car will be decorated with flowers and ribbons, and the funeral will include a cortege, the police chief said.