Murrill calls for an end to New Orleans consent decree

(The Center Square) — Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill has called on a federal judge to end the 12-year-old consent decree governing the New Orleans Police Department, arguing that it has outlived its purpose and is now harming the city’s ability to address public safety challenges.”The parties agree that the city of New Orleans has met its obligations under the current consent decree, and this new one imposes new obligations and new costs with no sign of ending anytime soon,” Murrill said in a public comment letter to U.S. Judge Susie Morgan. “It’s time to end NOPD’s consent decree once and for all, to take the handcuffs off of the brave men and women who serve as officers in that police department, and put them back on the criminals to increase public safety for all residents.”The consent decree, implemented in 2012 following a damning Department of Justice investigation, was designed to reform systemic issues in the NOPD, including unconstitutional use of force, discriminatory practices, and inadequate oversight.Murrill acknowledged the decree’s initial necessity but argued it has become a financial and operational burden.”Over the last decade, the monitoring fees and reform costs together are estimated to have cost the city a jaw-dropping $150 million dollars,” Murrill stated. “Those millions of dollars are the very funds NOPD needs to keep the city safe.”The NOPD is grappling with its lowest officer numbers since the 1940s, with just 897 commissioned officers as of November.Recruitment efforts have also dwindled; only 35 recruits have joined the force so far in 2024, compared to 88 in 2023 and 25 in 2022. Critics, including Gov. Jeff Landry, argue the consent decree has exacerbated these challenges by deterring recruitment and retention.”The New Orleans Police Department is in shambles, because of a federal consent decree and a federal judge,” Landry said earlier this year.The staffing shortage has raised concerns about the department’s ability to comply with the decree’s mandates for constitutional and effective policing.A federal monitor overseeing the decree highlighted issues with NOPD’s response times to emergency calls, particularly for domestic violence and sexual assault cases.”If officers cannot consistently respond to calls for service in a timely manner, the NOPD cannot meet this fundamental obligation,” the monitor noted.Murrill also criticized the financial impact of the decree’s oversight, which she described as enriching out-of-state law firms at the city’s expense. “The Court-imposed Monitor… bills the City a whopping $115,000 per month on average,” she said.Murrill urged Morgan to terminate the consent decree or, at minimum, start the process for its conclusion.”It is time to restore local control,” Murrill said. “At a very, very minimum, the Court should start the two-year clock now without imposing any new injunctions beyond what the Consent Decree already requires.”

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