New Orleans Police Department Issues LGBTQ Policy on Anniversary of Historic Stonewall Riots Against Police Brutality

From a press release from BreakOUT!

After organizing for over two years, BreakOUT! members enjoyed a victory today in the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) with the issuing of Policy 402, dealing with the treatment of members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) community. 

The policy includes protocols for stopping and searching transgender individuals and mandates that officers be trained on issues pertaining to the LGBTQ community.  Most importantly, the policy specifically mandates that, Officers shall not use an individual's actual or perceived gender identity, or sexual orientation as reasonable suspicion or probable cause that an individual is or has engaged in any crime.  (NOPD Policy 402.4)

"While BreakOUT! is hopeful for the policy's implementation, we recognize that much more must be done to ensure the safety of queer and trans youth of color on the streets of New Orleans," said BreakOUT!Youth Organizer Derwin Wilright, Jr.

Members and organizers of BreakOUT! were disappointed in the lack of community engagement during the policy's development. While BreakOUT! secured a commitment from the NOPD in October 2012 to meet with members prior to the adoption of any LGBTQ policies after members testified about their experiences with the NOPD in front of City Council, it was not until March 2013 that BreakOUT! was invited to a meeting.  This meeting was only after BreakOUT! sent over 300 emails to Chief Ronal Serpas demanding that the NOPD keep their promise to LGBTQ youth in New Orleans. 

After receiving the first draft of the policy, BreakOUT! called for public meetings for the NOPD to solicit community feedback and engage community members in policing reforms.  BreakOUT! held a rally in front of NOPD headquarters to deliver a statement with signatures from over 15 organizational partners to call attention to racial and gender profiling and Stop & Frisk practices, including Orleans Parish Prison Reform Coalition. 

Although the NOPD refused BreakOUT!'s request for a public meeting, youth members solicited community feedback on the policy themselves and brought community members, including representatives from the Congress of Day Laborers, to the NOPD meeting with them.

All of this comes as the Department of Justice and City of New Orleans continue to battle over desperately needed federal oversight of the NOPD.  While these policies are a step in the right direction, BreakOUT! members say they are a far cry from the sweeping reforms needed to keep community members safe from  harmful and discriminatory policing practices in New Orleans.

It is notable that the policy was released on the 44th Anniversary of the historic Stonewall Riots, where queer and transgender youth of color and drag queens fought back against police brutality and police raids in Greenwich Village in New York.

"We can see that little has changed in the last four decades and BreakOUT! must continue the tradition of organizing for a safe and just city," said Milan Alexander,BreakOUT! Youth Organizer.  

New Orleans Police Department Blames Victims

The New Orleans Police Department recently released a statement on "women and safety," that has outrage across the city and furthered the perception that this police department does not get it. They are more interested in blaming the victim than preventing assault. With absurd advice like "don't get into an elevator with a stranger," or "dress comfortably so you can move quickly if you have to," the statement is pure victim-blaming. We have pasted the entire release below.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 23, 2013 New Orleans Police Department Crime Prevention Unit Women and Safety  Violent crime can happen to any woman, anywhere, in any situation. Victims and attackers come from all economic classes and cultural backgrounds. Often, victims know their attackers. Violent crimes can happen any time of the day.  You can help protect yourself by understanding the risk and learning how to reduce them.  Stay out of isolated areas: Avoid little-used stairwells, parking lots and roads. Don’t get into an empty elevator with a stranger. Trust your instincts. If you sense trouble, get away as soon as possible. Show confidence. Walk at a steady pace. Keep your head up. Avoid carry lots of packages. It can make you look defenseless. Practice street smarts. Plan the safest route before you leave. Dress comfortably, so you can move quickly if you have to. Don’t wear headphones. It’s important to stay alert. Vary your biking and jogging route, and bring a friend. If someone follows you, change course and head toward other people. Stand back from the car when giving motorist directions. Take self defense classes. When using public transportation: Wait at busy, well-lit stops. Sit close to the driver. Speak loudly or yell if you feel threatened. Use caution on dates and in relationships. Beware of alcohol and other drugs. They affect judgment. Watch how much your date uses them, too. Don’t leave your drink alone. And don’t drink anything you didn’t get, open or pour yourself. “Date rape drugs” mixed in drinks can leave you at risk. Make your sexual limits firm and clear. Be independent. Don’t let your date make all the decisions. Provide your own transportation. Avoid secluded places.   Know the warning signs of abuse. Watch for behavior and attitudes in your date, partner or friend that signals trouble. For example, he or she may: Show a lack of respect for your feelings or ideas. Want to make all of the decisions. Frequently display anger, mistrust or jealously. Misuse alcohol or use of other drugs. Responding to an attack Only you can decide how to respond, and no one strategy will work every time. But in   general:  Size up the situation. You have several options. Many women will: Scream for help or yell “Fire!” Run away Fight back If you think resisting would put you in more danger, cooperate. Remember that your survival is most important. Do whatever you think is best. If you have been attacked or sexual assaulted: Act quickly. Get to a safe place. Get in contact with a friend, relative or rape crisis center. Go to the hospital. Don’t shower, brush your teeth, douche, comb or clean any part of your body, or change your clothes. This might destroy medical evidence. Tell the police. Remember, an attack is never your fault. Don’t blame yourself. Sergeant L. J. Smith New Orleans Police Department Commander, Crime Prevention Unit 715 S. Broad Avenue, Office # A- 412 New Orleans, LA 70119 (504) 658-5590 – Office Phone Sylbrown@nola.gov - Email

Mayor Landrieu and Ronal Serpas Wage War Against the City of New Orleans

Mayor Mitch Landrieu ran for office on a promise of reform of the city's police department. He promised a national search for a new police chief as his first major initiative as mayor. Then the members of his search team began quitting, saying the process was rigged. When Landrieu "national search" ended with the choice of his childhood friend, it was clear that our new mayor had a different vision of reform than many in this city.

So it should come as no surprise that the mayor who made a big statement about inviting in the Department of Justice to oversee the NOPD recently ended up taking back his invitation. 

Community members protested Mayor Landrieu's decision to ignore community input and hire Ronal Serpas. They protested his choice from day one; Serpas' inauguration. Landrieu ignored the protests and warnings, and insisted his choice was the right one. And now, three years later, New Orleans still has among the highest murder rates of any city in the world. It still has the highest incarceration rate of any city in the world. It still has one of the most corrupt police forces in the world, and that force continues to kill young Black men, like Justin Sipp and Wendell Allen. They continue to attack Black youth: one recent incident was captured on video, when police (state police and NOPD) rushed at two kids whose only crime was being Black and in the French Quarter.

Serpas and Landrieu have fiddled while the city burned. Last summer, faced with reports that New Orleans' murder rate had gone up in his first two years, Serpas declared, "I think we're seeing exactly what we wanted to see." Tulane criminologist Peter Scharf responded, "If this is good I don't know what bad would look like...I'd prefer frankly, some serious self introspection and staring at the numbers to figure out what's going on, rather than congratulating yourself."

Landrieu's major anti-crime effort of the past year seemed to rest on a badly-conceived advertising campaign that most people found either confusing or offensive.

Serpas' efforts have been marked by terrible ideas that were launched with big fanfare then quietly shelved, like his idea to release the criminal records of murder victims - the ultimate in blaming the victim from a police chief that was desperate to find anyone to blame but himself for policies gone badly wrong. Then there was his plan to send officers around checking to see if car doors were locked. His department put out a much derided statement on sexual assault that seemed to place blame for sexual assault on the victims, with advice like "Dress comfortably, so you can move quickly if you have to," and, "Don’t get into an empty elevator with a stranger."

In a city that already had the highest incarceration rate in the world, the Landrieu-Serpas team not only sought to increase arrests for petty offenses, they also seemed to have declared war on the culture the city is known for. Prosecutions of alcohol vendors rose 628%. In the city famous for Storyville and sex workers as culture workers, Serpas arrested as many indigent women who were selling sex as he could. Landrieu-Serpas have attacked secondline vendors, musicians, costume-sellers, live-music venues, and seemingly everyone else that creates the culture this city is known for. His traffic cameras have made most of their money by catching people driving what they think is the correct speed limit, not by enforcing public safety.

Overall, there is a feeling in New Orleans that Mayor Landrieu prioritizes the concerns of tourists over the people who actually live here. In response to this tendency, Rosana Cruz, Associate Director of VOTE (Voice Of The Ex-offender), has named Landrieu our "concierge-in-chief." Cruz added:

Please understand, out of town guests, I want you to have a good time! But we also constantly hear local and state officials telling the nation, “Your party is real important to us! New Orleans is a place to come and have a good time!” The unspoken end to that sentence is, “no matter how much pain and suffering is still happening.”

Luna Nola, another local blogger, echoed that theme with a recent post, in which she noted:

The movers and shakers of our city seem hell-bent to attain the desired 13 million annual visitors at any cost. Do you ever get a sinking feeling that those coveted 13 million non-residents seem to matter more than the ~370,000 New Orleanians who, to date, have dug their heels in to rebuild this city? I do… and with ever increasing frequency, as the Landrieu Administration continues to march relentlessly to the beat of its own drummer.

With a serious lack of community trust in the police department, Serpas made things worse through an aggressive policy of harassing and arresting Black youth - in which 93% of those arrested for curfew violations are Black, and a stop-and-frisk policy that has apparently ensnared 70,000 people and is likely racially discriminatory. Meanwhile his department lied and concealed the records for these policies. 

And when evidence came out that New York City police officers were spying on New Orleans residents, Landrieu and Serpas had no reaction.

A recent editorial by Louisiana Weekly editor Edmund Lewis lays out the breadth of opposition Landrieu's reign has brought:

After several years of community meetings designed to document NOPD misconduct, several years of investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and more than a year of negotiations and debate about the proposed NOPD consent decree and efforts on the part of the Landrieu Administration to prevent the inclusion of a civilian oversight panel in the decree, the mayor has decided that the NOPD consent decree is “not necessary.”

You have got to be kidding me.

Mind you, this is also after decades of murder, terrorism, robberies, corruption and unconstitutional policing by New Orleans’ finest, including the murders of Kim Groves, Ronald Madison, James Brissette, Henry Glover, Raymond Robair, Adolph Grimes III, Steven Hawkins, Justin Sipp, Wendell Allen and all the other men, women and children gunned down by the NOPD, tangible evidence of continuing racial profiling in the Mid-City Retail District and French Quarter and the recent attack on two Black teenagers in the French Quarter.

This is the mayor of White Chocolate City who has publicly described his Black critics as dysfunctional and called the cops involved in the shooting of Earl Sipp and the killing of Justin Sipp “heroes.”...

I don’t think this mayor gets how tired people of this city are of him. Even those who detested the mayor’s predecessor and once believed that anyone would be better than what we had after the Great Flood of 2005 are now questioning the wisdom of making such a declaration.

Cab drivers are tired of the mayor and the way he has undermined their ability to earn a decent living.

Minority contractors who continue to be locked out of opportunities to do business with the City of New Orleans are not happy with the mayor.

Civil-service workers who are being undermined by their boss at City Hall while watching him give his inner circle six-figure salaries are certainly tired of the mayor.

NORD referees who the city takes its time to pay are fed up with the mayor.

Residents who pay exorbitant property taxes but see no improvement in the infrastructure, no reduction in neighborhood blight or adequate police protection are sick and tired of this mayor and his shenanigans.

Civil rights groups and leaders who the mayor excluded from taking part in annual events commemorating the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and Juneteenth have certainly had their fill.

Elderly residents on fixed incomes who have been forced to pay more in Sewerage & Water Board bills and will likely be similarly fleeced by Entergy are sick of him.

Mothers whose sons have been racially profiled by the NOPD have had enough of this mayor.

For decades, New Orleans has had one of the most corrupt and violent police forces in the world. Mayor Landrieu promised to change that, but he and his police chief have fought against change, and every step they have taken seems to have made things worse. New Orleans deserves better.

Mayor and Police Chief Still Silent in Response to NYPD spying in New Orleans

This article originally appeared in Louisiana Weekly.

Editor’s Note: Documents recently uncovered by Associated Press reveal that the New York City Police Department traveled to New Orleans in 2008 to conduct surveillance operations.

In a Pulitzer prize-winning series of investigations over the past year, the Associated Press revealed that the New York City Police Department was conducting spying operations on U.S. citizens across several states, including as far away as here in New Orleans. However, the difference in how cities have responded to the revelations highlights much of what is wrong with our local political system, criminal justice system, and even media.

Compare New Orleans to Ne­wark, New Jersey. When evidence of New York City spying activities was uncovered, it became a major story across New Jersey print and TV. Here in New Orleans, The Louisiana Weekly was the only outlet to cover the story (although the Times-Picayune did reprint the Associated Press story).

In New Jersey, politicians from across the political spectrum were quick to condemn the spying program. New Jersey’s Republican governor, Chris Christie, told reporters that he was angered by the spying. “I don’t know if this NYPD action was born out of arrogance, or out of paranoia, or out of both,” he declared at a press conference. On the Democrat side, Newark mayor Cory Booker called the spying program “offensive,” and his police chief Samuel DeMaio assured residents that “this type of activity is not what the Newark PD would ever do.”

When Mayor Landrieu and Superintendent Serpas were asked for their comment on the actions of the NYPD, both appeared to be completely in the dark, and displayed little curiosity. “To be honest with you, I think that’s the first I’m ever hearing that,” said Serpas when asked at a recent press conference. “So I don’t know anything about it one way or another. I might have to catch up.”

“I hadn’t heard about it,” agreed Mayor Landrieu, speaking at the same press event. When asked if he approved of the NYPD actions, Landrieu commented, “I don’t like getting spied on,” but had no further comment.

Ryan Berni, the mayor’s director of communications, refused all follow-up requests for comment. When asked if the mayor’s office has any comment or opinion on the story, he gave this three-word answer: “We do not.”

In response to follow-up inquiries, NOPD spokesperson Frank Robertson told me, “we have researched this incident and in no way is it documented in our records.” When pressed, via email, for any opinion on the appropriateness of another city’s police department conducting surveillance activities in New Orleans, Robertson added this cryptic phrase: “Surveillance is the epicenter on crime fighting initiatives.”

This cavalier attitude is cause for concern. Mayor Landrieu has made police reform a centerpiece of his administration’s focus. When our mayor and police chief show that they don’t care about their citizens’ civil rights, and when our media and politicians treat these violations less seriously than it would be treated in other cities, it adds to New Orleans’ status as a “second-class” city, and gives all of us, as residents, second-class rights. Until we have a mayor and police chief take these issues seriously, reform of our criminal justice system will remain stunted.

NOPD Declares War on Sex Workers

Calling prostitution "a dangerous, violent crime," NOPD Police Chief Ronal Serpas announced today that New Orleans police had arrested 67 sex workers in the months of July and August in an undercover operation that also involved State Police, the FBI and the Secret Service.

In June, the NOPD made a similar announcement, in operations that totaled at least 60 prostitution arrests. Another June operation, targeting the clients of prostitutes, brought 29 arrests, including one NOPD officer.

Perhaps the most disturbing element of the recent campaign was the announcement by District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro that "prosecutors persuaded judges to slow down," causing releases on light bail to plunge.

The high-profile press conference held to announce the arrests, combined with the multi-agency involvement, indicates that this is another attempt by the NOPD to polish their image, similar to a recent campaign that involved officers checking the locks on car doors and knocking on houses.

The announcement also came on the same day that a judge ruled that a suit challenging Louisiana's registration of sex workers could go forward.

Chief Serpas' official statements further demonized the sex workers, accusing them of nearly every crime short of terrorism. "We find time and time again that women and men who actively participate in prostitution tend to commit other crimes," claimed Serpas. "Such as some form of battery, simple robbery, armed robbery, illegal drug deals, or carrying concealed weapons. In some cases, customers of prostitutes find that their wallets have been lifted, which means bank card theft and sometimes stolen identity cases. This is why it’s an incredibly worthwhile effort to target people involved in the prostitution business."

According to the Times-Picayune, Serpas indicated at the press conference that the arrests were requested by French Quarter business owners. It remains to be seen if this targeting of women provides the public image make-over the NOPD is hoping for.

Photo of Ronal Serpas from 2010 press conference.

Danziger Trial Presents Opportunity for Systemic Change

An earlier version of this article appeared on The Root website.
The testimony in the Danziger police violence trial draws a vivid picture of police violence and cover-up, but even more shocking is the fact that these revelations stayed hidden for so long. For more than three years, every check and balance in the city's criminal-justice system worked to keep this secret. This story stayed hidden because of judges who are too close to prosecutors; a city coroner who sides with the police version of events; and an entire system that seems focused on locking up people for misdemeanors rather than stopping violent crime.

"We have an opening at this point," says Malcolm Suber, project director for the New Orleans chapter of the American Friends Service Committee, and a longtime activist against law-enforcement violence. "But unless we talk about the entire system, this will repeat again."

The shootings on Danziger Bridge are the most notorious of at least nine separate incidents -- most of which occurred in the days just after Katrina -- that are being examined by federal agents. "This trial is going to show the country and the world that we have a serious problem with our police department," says Eddie Jordan, the city's former district attorney. "This department is engaged in horrendous acts against its citizens."

Official Responsibility

In a wide-ranging 158-page report released this March, the U.S. Justice Department declared that the NOPD has deep structural problems, noting, "Basic elements of effective policing -- clear policies, training, accountability and confidence of the citizenry -- have been absent for years." The report criticized the department for "use of excessive force; unconstitutional stops, searches and arrests; racial and ethnic profiling and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) discrimination; a systemic failure to provide effective policing services to persons with limited English proficiency; and a systemic failure to investigate sexual assaults and domestic violence."

Jordan feels that investigators should pursue charges up to the very top of the department, including Warren Riley, who was promoted to police chief shortly after Hurricane Katrina and served in that role until 2010. "Riley, by his own admission, never even read the report on Danziger," Jordan points out. "It's so outrageous, it's unspeakable. It's one of the worst things that anyone can do. It's hard to understand why he's not on trial as well.

"Fish starts rotting at the head," adds Jordan. "This was all done in the backdrop of police opposition at the very top. It's not surprising that there was a cover-up. You just have to wonder how far that cover-up went."

Riley, who resigned in 2010, has said that any officers involved in a cover-up should go to jail. He has also defended his response to NOPD corruption, saying that he inherited a deeply troubled department and a civil service system that protects bad officers. "I've fired 178 police officers in 4 1/2 years," he told radio host Gerod Stevens shortly before he retired. "I've suspended over 600."

A recent scandal involving the NOPD's "paid detail" system, in which some officers are able to double their salary by working in private security and other outside jobs, implicated friends and family members of Ronal Serpas, the current police chief. Assistant Superintendent Marlon Defillo, the second in charge of the department, is currently being investigated by the NOPD's internal affairs division for his role in stifling investigation of the Henry Glover case, in which five New Orleans police officers were accused of shooting the 31-year-old, burning his body and then engaging in a cover-up.

Defillo and Riley are both on the witness list in the Danziger case, as is Eddie Compass, who was police chief at the time of Katrina and is now the head of security for the district that covers most of New Orleans' public schools. It is unclear if they will actually be called, and if so if they will be called by defense or prosecution, or what they will be asked about.

Even representatives of the NOPD admit that the police department has a long way to go. While calling the Danziger incident "a tragic event from the past," police spokesperson Remi Braden said that Superintendent Serpas "inherited a fundamentally flawed department … It will still take significant time to change the foundation."

The Problem Goes Beyond Police

Criminal-justice reformers say that the Justice Department investigations, which have focused mostly on the NOPD, don't go far enough. According to Rosana Cruz, the associate director of V.O.T.E., an organization that seeks to build power and civic engagement for formerly incarcerated people, any discussion of changing the city's criminal-justice system must include Orleans Parish Prison, the city jail. "The prison has played a key role in all of this," she says. "We need to think about public safety from an actual safety perspective, not an incarceration perspective."

A September 2009 investigation by the Department of Justice documented "a pattern and practice of unnecessary and inappropriate use of force by OPP correctional officers," including "several examples where OPP officers openly engaged in abusive and retaliatory conduct, which resulted in serious injuries to prisoners." The investigation also found instances in which "the officers' conduct was so flagrant it clearly constituted calculated abuse."

Activists also have called for an investigation of Judge Raymond Bigelow, a prosecutor-turned-judge who has close relationships with the attorneys for the Danziger cops. Bigelow dismissed state charges against the cops in 2008 and retired soon after.

The city's elected coroner, Frank Minyard -- an 81-year-old jazz trumpeter who previously worked as a gynecologist -- has also been a focus of public criticism. Minyard's office didn't classify Glover's body -- which was found, burned, in a car with its skull missing -- as a potential homicide. Minyard also attributed the death of Raymond Robair, allegedly beaten to death by officers, as the result of having "fallen down." These cases helped inspire an investigation by PBS's Frontline, along with calls from the editorial board of the Times-Picayune for his resignation.

Dana Kaplan, executive director of the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana, a legal and advocacy organization, agrees that systemic change is necessary, including reform at the district attorney's office. Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro, who was elected in 2008, has taken over an office that has long faced accusations of racism and illegal activity, says Kaplan.

Connick v. Thompson, a case of prosecutorial misconduct that made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court this year, "made it clear there was an endemic level of corruption in the prosecutor's office," she says. Under former District Attorney Harry Connick Sr., the Orleans Parish District Attorney's office "failed to do what its stated mission is," Kaplan adds. "But they also contributed to corroding the public trust in law enforcement. And it will be a long time before they can regain that trust." Cruz of V.O.T.E. agrees and says that the problems in the office persist. "For the D.A.'s office, it is about the number of convictions. Safety is secondary."

Christopher Bowman, assistant district attorney and spokesman for Cannizzaro, says that public distrust in the criminal-justice system is real. "We see the effects of that on a daily basis in criminal court. When we question jurors, there are jurors that say they don't trust the police."

However, says Bowman, positive changes have already taken hold in the NOPD as well as in the district attorney's office, which he says has instituted important changes since Cannizzaro took over. "You have to look at an entire criminal-justice system that is reforming itself," he says.

For the officers on trial, much will depend on whether the jury believes that Katrina represented an extraordinary circumstance that excuses violent behavior, a defense that former District Attorney Jordan has no patience for. "A storm does not make law-enforcement officers go out and kill people," he declares, "and that's the excuse they're using. They are saying water is on the streets and the city is shut down, and so normal rules do not apply."

Project Transparency Posts New Financial Disclosure Forms of New Orleans Public Officals

Project Transparency, a program run by Louisiana Justice Institute, has posted 2009 and 2010 financial disclosure forms for many members of our city government, including the mayor, city council members, city attorney, police superintendent, and several key mayoral staff. The documents are available at this link.

Project Transparency was launched by LJI in October of 2008. We did this because access to information, especially about our government and its activities, is a crucial part of citizenship, and it is a human right. Members of the public demand access to unclassified documents their tax dollars have been used to produce.

Anger Against Landrieu, Serpas and NOPD Continues to Spread

At a forum on crime today, Mayor Mitch Landrieu and Police Superintendant Ronal Serpas faced an angry crowd and harsh questions. As reported in today's Times-Picayune, one respondent summed up the feelings in the room by asking, "How in the world can we as a city come together when there is crime in the Police Department itself, and you endorse those lies? That means you're a liar yourself. We're being bamboozled."

Today on WBOK, the city's only Black-owned radio station, callers were united in anger against Serpas and Landrieu, as they have been since the details of the latest corruption scandal were released. The anger also brought out dozens of people to a protest last Thursday outside police department headquarters, sponsored by the organization Community United for Change.

Nola Anarcha, a local blog, also has an angry commentary on the latest scandals, pointing out a legacy of violence and corruption charges against one family of officers, saying, "The Waguespack family name is one synonymous with scandal inside NOPD."

"Why do we continue to give these abusers free coffee, paid 'details,' and other kickbacks in exchange for a reprieve from their terror?" asks Nola Anarcha, providing links to coverage of scandals involving the family:

Would it not be better to get rid of people who use the threat of legalized violence to terrorize our communities, backed by a blind court system unwilling to sanction the indiscretions of it's running dogs, once and for all?
Joseph Waguespack and Henry Glover, and Payroll Fraud
Joe Waguespack Jr. and Jernard Thomas

Public Outcry on Police Corruption Leads to Suspension of Police Commander

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu announced today that he has suspended 8th District Police Commander Edwin Hosli, who had come under fire after revelations that a company he formed had profited by managing police reviews of traffic camera violations. In addition, the release on March 28 of an internal report that revealed widespread problems at the 8th district (download the report at this link) had brought further pressure on Hosli, as well as Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas, who is reportedly a close friend and ally of Hosli. Serpas was not in attendance for the announcement.

The revelations about Hosli and the 8th district had unleashed a floodgate of criticism in forums such as WBOK, the city's only Black-owned talk radio station. Many critics of police corruption see these charges as an indictment of not just the 8th District, but of Serpas' job as police chief, and by extension of Landrieu's choice of Serpas.

Mitch Landrieu campaigned on the promise of reform of the NOPD, and pledged a national search for a new police chief. When members of Landrieu's task force on the search for a new police chief resigned in protest, saying that they were not being meaningfully consulted on the search, many suspected that the national search was an illusion. The selection of Serpas, a childhood friend of Landrieu, seemed to confirm these suspicions.

Since his appointment, Serpas has worked overtime to assuage community concerns, making many public appearances and patiently answering questions at neighborhood forums and on WBOK's popular morning call-in show. However, these new revelations have brought back the initial public suspicion of Landrieu's choice.

The Mayor no doubt hopes that his quick suspension of Hosli will be enough to stem the tide of public anger. Will he prove correct?

How the NOPD (Mis)uses its Citywide Alert System

From activist and blogger Darwin Bond-Graham:

In the wake of 9-11 local governments nationwide set up alert networks to notify citizens in real time of possible threats to public safety. The system is rather simple. Authorities broadcast short notifications simultaneously and in real time through email and text messages to wireless devices.

New Orleans set up its own citizens alert network after Hurricane Katrina. In a city under assault of hurricanes and toxic oil disasters, federal and local authorities have reasoned the system could save lives and help conserve emergency responder resources.

Living downstream from cancer alley's many toxic and volatile refineries, and in a region that frequently experiences deadly and freakish weather, having such a system in place is wise. New Orleanians might be surprised, however, to learn what the system is actually being used for. On October 13, for example, a NOLAReady alert landed in the inboxes and cellular devices of thousands across Orleans Parish.

Was it life-threatening weather?

A highly disruptive road shutdown?

Evacuation or Shelter in Place information?

A boil water notice?

Did the Shell Oil plant blow up? Had the river crevassed? Did a chemical tanker spill its cargo near the French Market?

The grave threat to public safety on October 13 was none other than two women stealing baby formula. According NOPD Officer Gary Flot's alert message sent far and wide at 2:46 pm;

"Members of The New Orleans Police Department are requesting the public’s assistance in locating and identifying two female suspects wanted in connection with a shoplifting. The offense occurred October 8, 2010, approximately 6:30 P.M., in the Ideal Market in the 200 block of South Broad Street.

According to investigators, the suspects entered the store and concealed 18 cans of Enfamil baby formula under a baby blanket and exited the store. Both suspects entered a dark green Dodge Intrepid and fled south on Palmyra Street then unknown."

This dire warning to the people ends with the assurance that "First District Detective Kris Vilen is actively working the case and following up on leads given by our citizens."

Please forgive me for proposing a different kind of alert for New Orleans. Maybe the NOPD would kindly send it out through NOLAReady? It goes like this:

Warning: The people of New Orleans are suffering after five years of failed and misguided reconstruction policies. The poverty rate remains 1 in 4 for the general population. 35 percent of our children endure poverty. The city lacks affordable housing, and yet the politicians and real estate companies barrel ahead to demolish public housing. A quarter of our homes are vacant, while 1 in 25 of us is homeless. The public hospital remains shuttered. Lower-Mid City is evicted. The city has lost 20% of its pre-Katrina population. Some neighborhoods never came back at all. Half of workers in New Orleans earn less than $35,000 a year, and many earn considerably less, enduring frequent spells of un and underemployment. Government remains corrupt. The cops still brutalize, and now apparently have nothing better to do than chase impoverished mothers who are just trying to feed their kids. Displaced and dispossessed after the flood, now the people of New Orleans struggle through the Great Recession. Interpersonal violence has worsened. Women and children suffer from family and institutional abuse. Young men are killing each other in the streets. Trauma and mental illness have worsened and there are few resources to help one another. The people of New Orleans have caught hell.

I'd be interested in hearing from others what you might write as an alert for the city of New Orleans.

Exposing Unconstitutional Police Practices From New York to New Orleans

By Alison McCrary
As violent crime continues to surge and dozens of New Orleans police offers are under indictment, investigation, or have already pled guilty to serious crimes, the New Orleans Police Department has expanded policies that effectively undermine the already-challenged public confidence in the NOPD.

The Louisiana Justice Institute (LJI) and the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana (ACLU) have received numerous complaints from law abiding citizens who have been stopped and interrogated by NOPD officers in apparent violation of the U.S. Constitution. A similar policy of the New York Police Department was challenged in court as unconstitional and racially discriminatory. As a result, the NYPD made substantive changes to the policy and its implementation.

What will it take for the New Orleans Police Department to learn from the costly lessons taught to New York Police Department by civil rights litigation?

Police officers may stop individuals but only in compliance with a 1968 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Terry v. Ohio, which held an officer may stop an individual and conduct a field interview or carefully limited search only if the officer has reasonable suspicion that a crime has occurred or is about to occur. Such constitutional stops are referred to as “Terry stops.”

While limited Terry stops are needed to investigate “reasonably suspicious” criminal activity on our streets, under the leadership of the newly appointed Superintendent Ronal Serpas, numerous law abiding citizens have reported an increase in unconstitutional stops not warranted by the reasonable suspicion requirement. Such “Serpas stops” violate the law and the constitutional protections guaranteed to citizens.

NYPD is facing a federal civil rights class action lawsuit challenging the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk practices, which among other policing issues was the topic of a New York Times article earlier this year.

Through Floyd v. City of New York, which stems from Center for Constitutional Right's landmark racial profiling case, Daniels v. City of New York that led to the disbanding of the notorious NYPD Street Crime Unit, the organization collected over ten years worth of the NYPD’s own data on officer stop-and-frisk activity.

The data collected by the Center for Constitutional rights revealed that in New York City:

· Over 80 percent of NYPD initiated stops are of Blacks and Latinos while Whites comprised only 20 percent;
· Nearly 90 percent of all stops uncovered no weapons, contraband or evidence of criminal activity;
· Blacks and Latinos are more likely to be frisked after a NYPD-initiated stop than Whites, and,
· Blacks and Latinos are more likely to have physical force used against them during a NYPD-initiated stop than Whites.

In New Orleans, the ACLU of Louisiana last week raised the question of whether all the stops being conducted by NOPD officers were proper. The ACLU received numerous reports from New Orleanians who said they were stopped for no apparent reason and were required to provide identification. New Orleans police officers are collecting personal information on residents.

However, NOPD could not answers questions raised relating to exactly how many stops the New Orleans police officers are making and whether there has been an increase since NOPD leaders have begun scrutinizing the stops at the Comstat meetings. NOPD said that long-term data is not readily available because officers have been slowly shifting to entering the information into a centralized database instead of the district ones. However, such information is legally required to remain on file at NOPD according to case precendent.

What will it take for NOPD to recognize and respect the rights of citizens who are protected by the Constitution of the United States? Respect for the legal rights of the citizens they serve is essential to the NOPD restoring public trust and being successful in making New Orleans a safer place for everyone to live and work.

If you believe you have been improperly stopped, please share your story with the Louisiana Justice Institute by calling 504-872-9134 and/or file a complaint through the ACLU’s website.

Alison McCrary is an attorney and Soros Justice Advocacy Fellow at the Louisiana Justice Institute. She received her Juris Doctor of Law from Loyola University College of Law where she served as a member of Moot Court and president of the Public Interest Law Group. Alison is a member of the National Lawyers Guild.

Mayor Landrieu and Police Superintendent Serpas Release Plan to Rebuild the NOPD

Today, Mayor Landrieu and NOPD Superintendent Serpas released a 65-point list of steps they are taking - or have taken - to rebuild the NOPD. We have posted the document on our site.

While we welcome any serious efforts at change in the NOPD, we remain skeptical that these changes are an attempt to deflect the movement for real change in the department. Some of these so-called reforms point out how far we still have to go. For example, we're glad that they are instituting a policy of termination for "materially false statements with the intent to deceive" but concerned that something so basic needs to be added.

We hope these changes are the beginning of real change for the NOPD.

Activists Plan Protest and Further Actions Against Abuse by NOPD

Pressure continues to rise against Ronal Serpas, Mayor Landrieu's new police chief. Activists protested outside Serpas's swearing in ceremony on May 11, and have continued to hold protests, with more than fifty people gathered outside city hall at the most recent demonstration.

The members of Community United for Change, a new coalition that has formed to struggle on issues of police accountability, are continuing to organize responses to law enforcement violence. Organizers report that they have received "numerous complaints concerning the Sixth District Police Officers and the manner in which they are handling the citizens and residents of New Orleans. Beatings and evidence tampering are constant complaints." CUC members say it is time to respond with action.

Community United for Change has sent out a notice that they are calling for "Direct Action by way of an informational picket line" at the Sixth District station. Activists add that "A clear message must be delivered to the new administration that abuse and misuse will not be tolerated by the 'boys in blue.' The culture of corruption that has been the earmark of the NOPD must end."

The protest is today, Tuesday, June 1, at 4:00pm. It will be followed by a 5:00pm press conference to "call attention to the abuse and misuse of police authority." Both events will be at the Sixth District station, 1930 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, in Central City.

Community United for Change has also scheduled a series of public hearings to give the community an opportunity to testify about violence they or their family members or community have received or witnessed from the NOPD. Testimonies will be handed over to the Department of Justice to encourage further investigations of police corruption. The CUC is asking for "all social justice advocates, concerned citizens, and organizations that deplore injustice and the dehumanization of the New Orleans people" to attend these hearings.

The next public hearing is scheduled for Craige Culture Center, this Thursday, June 3rd at 6:00pm. The schedule for all upcoming CUC hearings is:

Thursday, June 3: West Bank - Craige Cultural Center, 1800 Newton Street.
Thursday, June 17: New Orleans East - Mosque 46, 4201 Downman Road.
Thursday, July 1: Central City - Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 1823 Washington Avenue.
Thursday, July 15: Hollygrove - Evening Star Baptist Church, 8926 Hickory Street.
Thursday, August 5: Treme - Treme Community Center, 900 N. Villere.

All hearings are from 6:00pm-9:00pm. For more information on the hearings or protests, call Community United for Change at 504-251-2201.