By A.C. Thompson, ProPublica
If you’ve been following our Law & Disorder series, there are a couple of fresh developments.
Our partners at the Times-Picayune have some new information about the expanding federal probe
of the New Orleans Police Department, confirming that the FBI is
investigating two more shootings described in stories we published in
December.
Also, the city’s inspector general publicly accused
(PDF) Police Superintendent Warren Riley of illegally obstructing
attempts to scrutinize police misconduct and disciplinary files.
“As you know, the relationship between the New Orleans Police
Department (NOPD) and the citizens of New Orleans has been poor,” wrote
Inspector General E.R. Quatrevaux in a letter sent this week to
outgoing Mayor C. Ray Nagin and posted on his office’s Web site.
Quatrevaux is in the process of establishing an independent monitoring
body to oversee the NOPD. In the letter, he faults Riley for barring
his staffers from reviewing records on police misconduct, discipline
and shooting incidents. The Times-Picayune has more on the controversy.