NOPD makes some progress, according to IG report

15th December 2014   ·   0 Comments

The New Orleans Office of Inspector General (OIG) on Wednesday released a report titled “Performance Audit of the New Orleans Police Department Central Evidence & Property Section (CE&P).” OIG auditors tested CE&P policies and procedures on property and evidence in custody of CE&P between January 2014 and March 2014.

Auditors noted that the NOPD, which began implementing a federally mandated consent decree in August 2013, has accomplished several significant improvements to CE&P including:

• Currency exhibits submitted to custody of CE&P facility are deposited in an interest-bearing City account on a weekly basis.

• A climate-controlled DNA section was added to CE&P and all DNA exhibits were barcoded and cataloged in this location.

• The CE&P Procedures Manual was revised to adopt professional standards recommended by the International Association for Property and Evidence, Inc. (IAPE).

Despite the NOPD’s improvements, auditors who tested 137 pieces of evidence and property in CE&P custody noted findings that place evidence and property in CE&P at a high risk of theft or misplacement. The findings include:

• Failure to dispose of evidence post-Katrina despite the fact that thousands of pieces of evidence and contraband property had exceeded all statutes of limitations.

• Failure to complete annual inventories and audits in accordance with NOPD policy.

• Actual location of evidence and property exhibits did not agree to storage locations listed in the computer data system and computer inventory reports included exhibits no longer in CE&P custody.

• Inventory reports obtained from the bar coded evidence analysis tracking software did not include a complete listing of evidence and property in the custody of CE&P.

“Evidence management has clearly improved but continued improvement is needed,” stated Inspector General Ed Quatrevaux.

In June 2014, CE&P management met with members of the Orleans Parish District Attorney and City Attorney offices to establish a process for attaining signed court orders necessary to dispose of evidence. During the meeting a court order was issued for the purging of 500 bicycles stored in evidence for which all statutes of limitations had expired.

The NOPD fully or partially agreed with all OIG recommendations to findings in the report.

In other police-related news, the National Urban League last week revealed its own blueprint for nationwide police reform in the wake of a series of grand jury decisions not to indict officers in Ferguson, Mo. and New York City after the killings of two unarmed Black men.

Headed by former New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial, the NUL said last week that it’s clear that police departments across the U.S. need to adopt new policies and procedures that protect Americans’ civil rights, WWL-TV reported.

“We need to make sure that standards are in place to make sure that not only are the police departments providing safety to our communities, but they are interacting in a way that protects all people’s civil rights,” Urban League of Greater New Orleans President Erika McConduit-Diggs told WWL last week.

The recommendations come 16 months after the NOPD began implementing a federally mandated consent decree aimed at raising the law enforcement agency’s constitutional policing to federal standards. The consent decree spells out 492 areas where the NOPD needs to make major improvements.

The NUL’s 10-point plan includes widespread use of body and dashboard cameras, reviewing and revising deadly force policies, strengthening police hiring policies and enacting anti-racial profiling laws.

“We think it’s time for as to start bridging the gap between police officers and community members,” McConduit-Diggs ex­plained. “That is the only way we will start to heal some of the wounds that exist and move forward as a healthy and safe community, jointly.”

NOPD Superintendent Michael Harrison applauded the Urban League recommendations.

“We are ahead of the curve on most of that,” he said. “By way of our federal consent decree, we are already making those comprehensive reforms in just about every area that they laid out in their recommendations, from training to hiring and retention, use of force policies.”

Fraternal Order of Police spokesman James Hartman told WWL that cops in New Orleans have mixed feelings about the recommendations.

“There are some things on that list that we would like to hear more about and some things just on their face we would absolutely oppose,” said Hartman. “I think the idea of a national profiling law, any mandatory specific policies such as the broken window policy referenced in those bullet points, and the appointment of a special prosecutor for every case involving law enforcement, that’s just unnecessary.”

The NUL is hoping its list of recommendations will start a national conversation about police reform, one that will result in a stronger relationship between the community and law enforcement.

“New Orleans needs to show advances in taking steps that make sure that police officers are positively interacting and protecting our community,” said McConduit-Diggs.

Listed below are the NUL’s recommendations for police reform:

• Widespread Use of Body Cameras and Dashboard Cameras

• Broken Windows Reform and Implementation of 21st Century Community Policing Model

• Review and Revision of Police Use of Deadly Force Policies

• Comprehensive Retraining of All Police Officers

• Comprehensive Review and Strengthening of Police Hiring Standards

• Appointment of Special Pro­se­cutors to Investigate Police Mis­conduct

• Mandatory, Uniform FBI Reporting and Audit of Lethal Force Incidents Involving All Law Enforcement

• Creation and Audit of Na­tional Database of Citizen Complaints against Police

• Revision of National Police Accreditation System for Man­datory Use by Law Enforcement To Be Eligible for Federal Funds

• National Comprehensive Anti-Racial Profiling Law..

Since the grand jury decisions in Ferguson and NYC, protesters in New Orleans have joined the rest of the nation in taking to the streets to voice their anger and disapproval.

In a recent report, FOX 8 News reported that local protesters began their march on Dec. 3 at Lee Circle on the same day that the NYC grand jury announced its decision not to indict a police officer for the death of 43-year-old Eric Garner. Nola.com/The Times-Picayune reported that protesters walked between cars shouting “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” and interrupted the lights show at Gallier Hall. The protesters told FOX 8 they were bringing attention to the recent examples of what they called a lack of justice and a perpetuation of racial issues.

“People are tired. Today, a decision was reached to not indict a cop who on camera killed an innocent man, and this is the third decision we’ve got in a seven-day span that has shown us that no matter what we do, even if it is captured on camera, nothing will be done,” activist Kadesha Minor said.

The protest was taking shape while NOPD Supt. Michael Har­rison was one of a few panelists leading a planned community discussion on the interactions bet­ween Black males and police officers. The discussion at SUNO was scheduled in response to the Ferguson case where a police officer shot an unarmed teenager.

Before the SUNO discussion began, Harrison responded to the decision in New York City.

“I did see that video, I saw uniform officers there, and whether there was adequate supervision, what policies were in place and maybe violated, which would have lead me to maybe a different decision maybe not a different decision, but there are a lot of questions I would ask,” Harrison said.

During the panel, SUNO Criminologist Dr. John Penny said, “Justice un-served is a disservice to everyone.”

Criminologists boiled down the statistics as students shared their own experiences. Harrison said NOPD is in better shape with federal partners and local monitors, but community relations will remain a top priority. He recognized the difficulty of having conversations about race relations from his unique position as both NOPD chief and the father of a 21-year-old Black man, who now lives in Indiana.

“It’s always tough to have that conversation, and I’ve had that conversation with my own son. And it’s always hard to have that conversation, but it’s something that we cannot be scared to do, and we can’t run from it. We have to do it head-on,” Harrison said.

“I don’t want my son to grow up being afraid of the police,” discussion attendee and New Orleans East resident Don Graham. “At the same time, I think we need to do a better job of policing in our community. So, that’s my reason for being here today.”

During the panel discussion, Harrison said the policy in New Orleans is to be “hard on problems, soft on people.” He also said being as transparent as possible is the best course of action for a police department, and noted the body cameras police officers wear now in New Orleans.

Ramessu Merriamen Aha, a New Orleans businessman and former congressional candidate, scoffed at the idea of the NOPD being “soft on people.”

…“I think Wendell Allen, Justin Sipp, Adolph Grimes III, Ronald Madison, James Brissette, Henry Glover, Steven Hawkins, Kim Groves and all the others killed by New Orleans police might disagree.”

Additional reporting by Louisiana Weekly editor Edmund W. Lewis.

This article originally published in the December 15, 2014 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.