Federal monitor report critical of NOPD’s‘use of force’ documentation

The latest report on implementation of the NOPD consent decree issued by the federal monitor said that the police department needs to do a better job getting video of events that involve the use of force by policemen, FOX 8 News reported.

The report, issued by Washington, DC-based Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, comes just weeks after a suspect, Armand Bennett, was shot in the head by NOPD Officer Lisa Lewis, who turned off her body camera shortly before the incident. The shooting was not reported by the NOPD until two days later.

The report shows the department can’t prove it has recordings of events that involved the use of force from April to June. It also shows the department failed to notice or remedy a high percentage of in-car cameras that did not work.

“The NOPD is committed to ensuring that all officers are following the policies put in place to increase transparency and accountability of the department.\,” Interim NOPD Supt, Michael Harrison said in a statement last week. “As the Monitor’s report notes, the NOPD made the decision to purchase and implement the use of body-worn cameras this spring to provide officers with a new tool that records an accurate account of their work. This report reviewed Use of Force reports that were filed before the NOPD implemented body worn cameras. We developed the policy with the Department of Justice and the Consent Decree Monitor and finalized it this summer. Moving forward, we will address issues on a case-by-case basis through additional training and discipline when warranted.”

In a report several months ago, Sheppard Mullin noted that while the NOPD has made an effort to overhaul its policies and practices, it still has “a long way to go.”

In a recent interview, W.C. Johnson, a member of Community United for Change and host of the local cable-access show “OurStory,” said that Sheppard Mullin has not played hard ball with the NOPD and has failed to take concrete steps to hold the department accountable when the NOPD has demonstrated resistance to change.

Johnson suggested that the Washington, DC-based firm is losing credibility as a federal monitor as it fails to do what is necessary to bring constitutional policing to New Orleans and ensure that the 492-point NOPD Consent Decree is fully implemented.

“We will continue to monitor the federal monitor closely and do whatever is necessary to ensure that Sheppard Mullin represents the interests of the citizens of New Orleans, the people who have suffered the most from unconstitutional policing and who have worked hard to convince the U.S. Department of Justice that this police department needs to be completely overhauled,” Johnson said late last week.

This article originally published in the September 8, 2014 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.