Copyright Baton Rouge Advocate
The federal civil rights consent decree that has governed the New Orleans Police Department since the days of Mitch Landrieu and Barack Obama is not over, but the end appears to be near. That’s partly due to changing political times, but much more so to NOPD’s demonstrable — and, we hope, sustainable — progress in moving toward more constitutional and professional practices across the board. Procedurally, here’s where things stand. The Cantrell administration, the Trump administration and state officials led by Gov. Jeff Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill all say the department has reached compliance with the 492-point plan and should be freed from federal oversight. Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan, who has overseen the consent decree’s implementation for 12 years, said she would agree to end the arrangement if an appeals court sends the case back her way, which appears likely. This marks a change from her ruling in January, when she rejected the city’s request to end the consent decree, and instead approved a two-year sustainment plan requiring the department to complete a list of remaining tasks. We supported that plan, as did Helena Moreno, the City Council vice president who is now New Orleans’ mayor-elect. But like Morgan, we recognize that the political winds have shifted and that the Department of Justice is no longer supportive of these sorts of interventions in local police departments. So, although we hope the department will continue to focus on the areas Morgan identified that could still use improvement, we congratulate officials for coming so far in changing the department’s culture. Indeed, we see several reasons why now is a good time to move on from federal oversight. One is that the cost of oversight that Mayor LaToya Cantrell has long complained about — roughly $11 million annually at first, less as the years went on and the city moved toward compliance — is especially burdensome now, with the city facing a severe budget shortfall. Even more persuasive is that things at the NOPD are, inarguably, going well. Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick gets much credit for focusing scarce resources on areas of need, for improving morale and for keeping the department on the path to compliance. Moreover, the change in administration should not upend that progress; Moreno has not made an announcement about police leadership in her incoming administration, but she said during the campaign that she hoped Kirkpatrick would stay, and Kirkpatrick has indicated that she would. So we’d like to take this opportunity to applaud the progress that has occurred under two mayoral administrations and that is poised to continue into a third. And even without federal oversight, we urge city officials to continue to follow the spirit of the consent decree’s requirements, those that have been achieved and those where, arguably, the department still falls short. That has always been the best possible outcome of this venture. We’re encouraged that it appears likely to come to pass.
