New Orleans’ IG, IPM at odds over autonomy
5th October 2015 · 0 Comments
The ongoing war of words between the City of New Orleans’ Inspector General and Independent Police Monitor heated up late last week as IPM Susan Hutson fired back at IG Ed Quatrevaux’s efforts to have Hutson terminated.
“First, I want to assure the public that I have not done anything illegal or unethical in my service as Police Monitor. In fact, every decision cited in the IG’s letter was a decision in service of the Office of Independent Police Monitor (OIPM) mission to improve police services to the community, enhance officer safety and working conditions, and mend the relationship between NOPD and the community it serves,” Hutson wrote in an email TO WWL News.
In a letter to the Ethics Review Board dated September 24, 2015, IG Ed Quatrevaux told the board that “Ms. Hutson has engaged in ethical misconduct in office; unprofessional conduct; has failed to relate effectively with law enforcement; and other acts tarnishing the integrity of the Independent Police Monitor Division (IPMD).
“The most recent and most egregious example of Ms. Hutson’s ethical misconduct and unprofessional conduct was so severe that it resulted in a federal judge restricting her access to NOPD videos and other documents,” Quatrevaux wrote. “On July 14, Judge Susie Morgan, Eastern District of Louisiana, called a meeting in her chambers to discuss the release of NOPD videos because she was concerned about the release by the IPM of a video on July 1. Judge Morgan wanted to ensure that videos were released as soon as possible, but only within the confines of the law, and asked the parties to develop a protocol. All attendees agreed on a protocol for earliest release of videos except for Ms. Hutson. The judge told Ms. Hutson that she did not appreciate Ms. Hutson’s prior behavior regarding release of the July 1 video. One witness stated that the judge described the release as ‘inappropriate’; another witness stated that the judge said that the IPM’s release of the video ‘appeared to be for publicity purposes.’ Ms. Hutson was combative with the judge and refused to agree to any protocol regarding release of information and stated that she would unilaterally release information without any coordination. The judge stated that it appeared as though Ms. Hutson was attempting to ‘sensationalize’ police incidents and directed NOPD to restrict the Independent Police Monitor Division to ‘view only’ access because of Ms. Hutson’s stated intention to release information in violation of the judge’s directive.”
Quatrevaux also objected to Hutson’s handling of comments on the case of former Ferguson, Mo. Officer Darren Wilson, the cop who shot an unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown. The IG said the IPM’s amounted to “unprofessional conduct.”
“The FBI opened a federal criminal civil rights investigation on August 11, 2014, two days after Michael Brown was shot to death by Officer Darren Wilson, and published its report of investigation on March 4, 2015,” Quatrevaux wrote. “Ms. Hutson appeared on the Ringside Politics show on WGSO on November 25, 2014, while the investigation was being conducted. She questioned the officer’s actions and said she thought he had other alternatives. She likened the encounter to a ‘fist fight’ rather than an inherently dangerous situation. She speculated on the officer’s guilt, finding his actions ‘questionable.’ Commenting on specific cases in other jurisdictions is poor practice as is commenting on matters for which the police monitor had no knowledge of the facts. The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division concluded quite differently from Ms. Hutson: ‘Not only do eyewitnesses and physical evidence corroborate Wilson’s account, but there is no credible evidence to disprove Wilson’s perception that Brown posed a threat to Wilson as Brown advanced toward him.’”
Hutson, who was hired by the IG in 2010, refuted Quatrevaux’s claims, telling WWL, “The quality of my work and service is not the true issue. The OIPM’s independence is.”
Hutson said she placed a higher premium on serving the needs of the community than on staying in the good graces of the Office of Inspector General.
“When my accountability to the community conflicts with the IG’ s desires, I will continue to err in favor of the community,” Hutson responded.
Hutson called for more independence for her office, including “funding to exercise power.”
“With operational and financial independence,” Huston wrote, “we can share even more with the people of New Orleans, exposing areas of risk to civilian and officer life, liberty and property. This department has suffered from cover-ups and secrets too long. By establishing OIPM’s operational independence, we can give the people of New Orleans access to the full truth about its police department.”
“I’m grateful to Ms. Hutson for having the guts to release the video of the ex-cop manhandling a teenage girl in the juvenile detention center,” Ramessu Merriamen Aha, a New Orleans businessman and former congressional candidate, told The Louisiana Weekly. “I don’t know if that video would have ever seen the light of day were it not for the Independent Police Monitor.
“The public has a right to see how the police treat our children — whether in a juvenile detention center or on the streets of New Orleans — when they think no one is looking,” Aha added.
W.C. Johnson, co-chair of Community United for Change and co-host of the local cable-access show “OurStory,” said that the public needs to be clear about what is happening behind the scenes as the IG and IPM spar publicly over the issue of autonomy for the IPM.
“Ed Quatrevaux is employed by the Mayor of New Orleans, Ed acts upon the directions of the Mayor,” Johnson wrote in an emailed statement. “The Mayor has spent enormous amounts of political capital to shape and form the Ethics Review Board. The Ethics Review Board has, in the past, been a rubber stamp for the Mayor’s wishes.”
Johnson added that Hutson is anything but blameless for her current political and professional woes.
“I have always encouraged Miss Hutson to use her power as an associate of the Inspector General’s Office to employ the various powers of that office to gain what she needed to produce as the IPM,” Johnson said. “Her failure to at least try to engage the OIG would have placed the city on the defensive concerning any collaboration of the IPM. The awkward position Miss Hutson finds herself in today is a product of her own doing. Miss Hutson’s reluctance to take charge of her duties for the betterment of the New Orleans community has tainted her ability and opportunity to approach the community at this 11th hour.”
“The problem is we have too many elected and appointed officials in New Orleans with serious control issues” the Rev. Raymond Brown, a community activist and president of National Action Now, told The Louisiana Weekly. “Like the song says, ‘everybody wants to rule the world.’ Everybody wants somebody under foot.
“What the Inspector General doesn’t seem to get is that the Independent Police Monitor is by definition supposed to be an INDEPENDENT police monitor.”
New Orleans City Councilman Jared Brossett said Thursday that he is seeking to have the position of Independent Police Monitor removed from the jurisdiction of the Office of Inspector General to resolve the matter.
Brossett introduced an ordinance at Thursday’s City Council meeting to strengthen the independence of the Office of the Independent Police Monitor (OIPM) and give the OIPM the tools it needs to achieve its mission of enhancing police service to the community, building citizen trust in the NOPD, ensuring NOPD officer safety and improving working conditions.
“The ordinance honors the will and intent of voters who in 2008 overwhelmingly voted to establish the Office of Independent Police Monitor,” Brossett explained.
Supporters of the ordinance say passage of the ordinance is the first step to resolving a protracted dispute over funding the Office of the Independent Police Monitor by establishing a funding formula to support additional professional staff for the OIPM, clarifying the relationship of the Independent Police Monitor with the Office of the Inspector General, streamlining critical communication between the OIPM and NOPD, establishing the process for selection of the Independent Police Monitor and adding the City Council President and Vice President to the search committee in the case of a vacancy in the position of Independent Police Monitor, providing the OIPM access to all critical incidents and investigatory materials related to misconduct, and authorizing the OIPM to conduct non-criminal investigation of allegations of retaliation against members of the public and employees of the NOPD. The ordinance also adds a section requiring the Office of the Independent Police Monitor to undergo an annual external review and quality evaluation.
Councilmember Brossett was joined by Council President Jason Williams and Councilmembers LaToya Cantrell, Nadine Ramsey and James Gray as co-authors of the ordinance.
“I want to thank my Council colleagues and community stakeholders for their months of hard work in developing this ordinance which will go a long way to supporting sustainable reform of the New Orleans Police Department,” Councilmember Brossett said.
“The Office Independent Police Monitor has done a yeoman’s job on a shoestring budget. This ordinance gives the OIPM stable funding to continue and expand its work to support the NOPD in building public confidence,” Councilmember Nadine Ramsey said.
“In the wake of a series of unfortunate and tragic events across the country, cities around the nation are realizing what the people of New Orleans understood years ago: Strong, independent civilian monitoring of the police is a good investment because it makes both citizens and law enforcement officers safer,” said Councilmember Gray. “This ordinance will make our Office of Independent Police Monitor stronger and more effective.”
“Without a robust, effective and independent Office of Independent Police Monitor, the tens of millions of dollars invested in NOPD reforms pursuant to the DOJ-NOPD Consent Decree can not be sustained. The intent of this ordinance is to protect the taxpayers’ investment to ensure lasting reform and a more effective NOPD that can enjoy the trust and confidence of citizens it needs to be successful in making our city safer,” Councilmember Brossett said.
The Ethics Review Board set a special meeting to consider the IG’s recommendation on Friday, October 23, 2015, at 1:00 p.m. in the City Council Chamber.
This article originally published in the October 5, 2015 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
