Legal Commentary

Justice Dept Issues Report on New Orleans Police Misconduct

By Jeralyn

The Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, has issued a report finding the New Orleans police department engaged in misconduct that violated the Constitution and federal laws.

Among the findings are that the police department has used excessive force, made unconstitutional stops and searches, and illegally profiled people based on race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. The investigation also found a number of practices that contributed to the illegal conduct, including failed systems for recruiting and promoting officers, poor training and lack of supervision, among others.

The report finds the misconduct is "serious, wide-ranging, systemic and deeply rooted in the culture of the department." [More...]

Investigators found that officers "regularly used excessive force as retaliation" but that in six years, not one officer-involved shooting violated policy. In some cases, there were attempts to prevent the prosecution of officers, Perez said.

They also found that officers did not know the law regarding legal stops, searches and arrests. The system at the police department favored quantity of arrests over quality, Perez said.

Also cited: police harrassment of gays, lesbians, bi-sexual and transgenders individuals.

The DOJ announcement by Deputy Attorney General James Cole is here.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on March 17, 2011 (boomark / email).