4 may 2010 perez request for intervention

8/9/2019 4 May 2010 Perez Request for Intervention

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May 4, 2010

via email: [email protected] E. Perez, Esq.

Assistant Attorney General Office of Civil RightsUnited States Department of Justice950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.Washington, D.C. 20530

RE: Request for Intervention

Dear Mr. Perez:

Dr. Romell Madison knew the police account of his brothers death (RonaldMadison) was incredible. There were just too many loose ends; too many inconsistent

facts; too many differing accounts of the same event. Still, like so many other victimsand victims family members of NOPD misconduct, Dr. Madison faced one barrier afteranother in his quest for answers, and then fight for justice for the Danziger Bridgesurvivors.

Our local police, elected officials, and local federal agencies have sat silently foryears complicit in the brutality of NOPD ineptitude, mismanagement, corruption, andabuse of power. For years there has been a pattern or practice of conduct by lawenforcement officers of the New Orleans Police Department that deprives persons ofrights, privileges, and immunities secured and protected by the Constitution and laws ofthe United States. The recent, shocking revelations resulting from the eight (8) on-

going federal criminal civil rights investigations of New Orleans police officers haveconfirmed the problems in the New Orleans police department are deep and systemic.These investigations also confirm that criminal prosecutions alone are inadequate toaddress these problems. We know this. Its nothing new; the hurricane didnt stopanything.

We also know that changes in the NOPD cannot come by simply hiring anew police chief. We recognize Mayor Mitch Landrieu may well have his own ideasconcerning needed innovations for NOPD. But one person, however well intentioned,cannot fix this problem. Any assumption that the hiring of a new police chief will solvethe problems in the NOPD ignores our city's history of struggle to reform the NOPD andsimply placates those calling out for real reform, while adding salt to the wounds ofthose of us most likely to be victimized by brutal and/or corrupt police. We need asolution that addresses the systemic nature of the problem.

The U.S. Department of Justice can provide just this solution throughutilization of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, whichauthorizes the Department of Justice to file civil lawsuits against law enforcementagencies that engage in a pattern of violating people's rights and obtain a court


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Mr. Thomas E. Perez, Esq.Assistant Attorney General Office of Civil RightsUnited States Department of JusticeMay 4, 2010Page 2 of 3

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order to monitor and reform them. The undersigned are citizens and residents ofNew Orleans who are deeply concerned about the crisis in our community regarding theNOPD and the serious, persistent violations of civil rights in which our police departmenthas been and is currently engaged. We hereby request USDOJ use its oversightauthority to intervene in this matter and file a federal lawsuit predicated on theundeniable fact that the City of New Orleans, via the New Orleans Police Department,has engaged in "a pattern and practice of conduct by law enforcement officers . . . thatdeprives persons of rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by theConstitution or laws of the United States."

We need your assistance because the good people of New Orleans are

beleaguered by crime and a law enforcement agency that is incapable ofcorrecting itself without federal intervention through your office and the federalcourts. But this must be the Prequel not the beginning the start before thebeginning of true reform through reorganization of the NOPD. We know yourbackground and experience in involving community voices in the drafting andenforcement of Consent Decree agreements, and your determination that theirprovisions be strictly enforced to affect Sustainable Reform.

The bottom line is we want the culture of our police department changed,which will require a paradigm shift that cannot occur without your immediateassistance. We deserve this. Justice has been delayed and denied to us for far

too long.

Thank you for the interest you have shown in addressing the many problems inthe criminal justice system in New Orleans.

Sincerely,

Shakoor Aljuwani Episcopal Diocese of LouisianaNatasha Boyd GURLS for LifeBertrain Butler New Orleans Mardi Gras Indian CouncilLucas Diaz Puentes NOLA

Davida Finger, Esq. -- Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, CommunityJustice ClinicKen Foster Silence is ViolenceMonique Harden, Esq. Advocates for Environmental Human RightsNorris Henderson V.O.T.E. (Voice of the Ex-Offender)Robert Horton Black Men United for ChangeAllen James Safe Streets/Strong CommunitiesShaena Johnson Louisiana Justice Institute


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Mr. Thomas E. Perez, Esq.Assistant Attorney General Office of Civil RightsUnited States Department of JusticeMay 4, 2010Page 3 of 3

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W.C. Johnson Our StoryMary JosephDana Kaplan Juvenile Justice Project Louisiana*Carol Kolinchak, Esq. Juvenile Justice Project Louisiana*Rev. Kojo Livingston Destiny One MinistriesBaty Landis Silence is ViolenceChita ManuelBarbara MajorJacques E. Morial Louisiana Justice InstitutePamela Nath Mennonite Central CommitteeLydia Pelot-Hobbs

Ted Quant -- Loyola University's Twomey Center for Peace through Justice*William Quigley, Esq. Loyola University New Orleans College of Law and Centerfor Constitutional RightsAesha Rasheed New Orleans Parents Organizing NetworkEmily RatnerRev. Dr. Torin SandersMtangalizi Sanyika African-American Leadership ProjectSaia Smith Louisiana Justice InstituteAletha M. StrongMalcolm Suber American Friends SocietyMiles Swanson

SESS 4-5 NothinButFire RecordsMakani Themba-Nixon The Praxis ProjectNorwood Thompson Southern Christian Leadership Coalition*Wes Ware, Lead Youth Advocate Juvenile Justice Project of LouisianaAndy WashingtonDr. Louis X. Washington, Sr.Tracie L. Washington, Esq. Louisiana Justice InstituteRev. Tom Watson Watson Memorial Teaching MinistriesDr. Shelia WebbJennifer WhitneyGina Womack Family and Friends of Louisianas Incarcerated Children

Dr. Beverly Wright Deep South Center for Environmental Justice

cc: Roy L. Austin, Jr.Deputy Assistant Attorney General/USDOJ

*For Identification Purposes Only

4 may 2010 perez request for intervention

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