Essay About Police Department And Ways Of The New

Corruption in the New Orleans Police Department
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Meghan MackProfessor Kirby-SmithEnglish 100119 October 2011Corruption in the New Orleans Police Department        The New Orleans Police Department has a duty to enforce the criminal law and preserve public peace twenty-four hours a day, three hundred sixty-five days a year. This division of our government has an understood obligation to police, everyday life matters, and activities for the citizens in the New Orleans area.  The police interact with the average citizen more than any other government official.  In today’s society, the police play an important role in preserving a civil society. This role has a large amount of power and authority over the general public.  With power comes corruption and misuse of power.  The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) consistently violates citizens’ constitutional rights in multiple ways, from conducting illegal searches, using excessive force, and discriminating against minorities. Since the early stages of policing, there have been many parts of policing that have changed; however, the existence of corruption is one aspect that has persisted quite unchanged.  The New Orleans Police Department was undergoing examination by the Special Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana in May 2010 for incidents where the officers violated the Constitution and federal law.  This is not the first time the NOPD has been under investigation.  The federal agency started a similar evaluation of this police unit in the mid- to late 1990s.  The review resulted in many recommendations to them, but no court-ordered changes.  Eventually, the NOPD reverted into their old habits.  Past reform efforts emphasize the need for long-term commitment and agreement of all-important participants to essentially and permanently change the ways of the New Orleans Police Department.  Many outsiders on this situation are hoping that the police will not go back to their old ways (McCarthy and Maggi).        One major problem in the New Orleans Police Department is the excessive force they use against citizens. Research has shown that when officers use excessive force against people they “forget” to document their actions (McCarthy).  The NOPD have been known to get crowds’ rowdy enough for arguments to begin between the police and citizens.  Once the yelling begins, the police officers think it is acceptable to take full action against these people who are trying to explain to them that they have done nothing wrong.  Some things the police do in this type of situation are tackle, arrest, or even use a stun gun against innocent bystanders. The most serious case resulted in the officer firing his gun on an innocent person (McCarthy).  They may not particularly be a human police officers, but the canine of the New Orleans Police Department are another example of the police using excessive force against citizens.  These canines are uncontrollable and are not only attacking their handlers, but also innocent citizens.  The United States Department of Justice have ordered the NOPD to stop use of the canines in any type of investigations (Perez). The NOPD use of force on citizens is an example of police corruption.         Police brutality is a major problem happening in the Police System of New Orleans. The NOPD is known to not prosecute officers for police brutality (Simmons).  Many occurrences of police brutality took place during Hurricane Katrina.  A well-known issue that happened during Hurricane Katrina is the killings on the Danziger Bridge.  Kevin Johnson from USA Today describes what happened, “Armed with AK-47 assault rifles, a shotgun and other weapons, the four officers drove to the bridge in a Budget rental truck and, prosecutors allege, opened fire on six unarmed people, killing 17-year-old James Brissette and wounding four others.”  The four officers later got together to make sure they all had their stories about the shooting straight.  These four cops have been living the life as innocent people for years now.  Eventually, they were put on trail and all pleaded not guilty.  The verdict has not been reached yet, but when it is they will be receiving the death penalty if found guilty. Another police officer reportedly shot a mentally disabled boy in the back and then continued to stomp and kick him while he was lying on the ground helpless.  The boy died soon after.  This police officer will be tried along with the other four in the Danziger Bridge case (Johnson).  The NOPD and police brutality go hand and hand when it comes to corruption.         Conducting illegal searches seems to be another corruption issue that is going on in the New Orleans Police Department.  Reports have shown that NOPD has been performing unnecessary “pat-down” searches that do not meet the requirements of federal law (McCarthy and Maggi).  Undercover police have been known to approach teens that are in a group and give them a “pat-down” one by one because they thought they were up to “no good.”  Studies show that the law enforcement in New Orleans need to brush up on their knowledge of how to differentiate between suspicious situations and normal situations.  A Department of Justice investigation taken place ten years ago showed that many of the officers could not explain proper legal standards for stops and searches.  This department has recently investigated the officers on this issue and found that there is still a problem in the city involving illegal searches (Department of Justice).