When Mayor Mitch Landrieu and Police Chief Ronal Serpas took office, they welcomed outside review of their purviews, but they may have underestimated the incompetence that would be unearthed. Even more so than the review of City Hall earlier this year, the Justice Department’s assessment of the NOPD has revealed alarming inadequacies and outright corruption. [caption id="attachment_1810" align="alignright" width="300"] Photo Courtesy of nola.com[/caption] It was found that officers were habitually using excessive force, as witnessed by the Krewe of Eris, and investigations into these incidents were not thorough enough to determine innocence. Many investigations of officer-involved shootings were so mishandled that the report considers them, “a deliberate attempt to make it more difficult to criminally prosecute any officer in these cases." The report also found that the NOPD was arresting a disproportionate amount of African-Americans through the practice of racial profiling. The Times Picayune reports that, “in other cities that collect data, the ratio of black-to-white juvenile arrests is 3:1 after adjusting for population,…the rate in New Orleans is 16:1.” These are just some of the most egregious in a long list of problems including K9 units that attack their own handlers. Hopefully over time, the NOPD will see effective reform, but the problems persist. If you or anyone you know has been mistreated by the NOPD, Bloom Legal can fight for you. Contact us at 504-599-9997 for a no obligation consultation.
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