A public hearing regarding the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) Consent Decree will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 17, in C-316, third floor, of the Hale Boggs Federal Courthouse, 500 Poydras St.
While the public can attend the hearing, which will take place in Judge Susie Morgan’s courtroom, public comment and questions will not allowed during the court proceeding. Thee consent decree monitoring team is expected to hold a public meeting in September for that purpose.
NOPD has been under a consent decree since it went into effect in January 2013. At the time, the consent decree was described as “unprecedented in scope and nature . . . designed to ensure that comprehensive, sustainable reforms are made in the New Orleans Police Department.”
The consent decree requires NOPD to make broad changes in policies and practices related to use of force; stops, searches and arrests; custodial interrogations; photographic line-ups; preventing discriminatory policing; community engagement; recruitment; training; officer assistance and support; performance evaluations and promotions; supervision; misconduct investigations; and NOPD’s paid detail system.
Citing NOPD officer complaints that the decree is burdensome and too punitive that have resulted in recruitment and retention challenges, Mayor LaToya Cantrell recently announced that she would be formally asking the U.S. Department of Justice to release the city’s police department from the nearly 10-year old decree.
