NOPD under consent decree

After the conviction of NOPD officers in the Danziger Bridge incident, the Department has agreed to a consent decree to try to clean up the wide-spread problems. The consent decree will be overseen by a federal judge and will include a monitor who will check to see that NOPD is implementing the required changes. LAPD appears to have markedly improved under a similar decree. Although the article does not so specify, it appears that this consent decree is the result of a threat of federal "pattern or practice" litigation against the agency.