Mayor Cantrell says public meetings are not part of consent decree

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)— Mayor LaToya Cantrell is defending her decision to scale back on the NOPD’s participation in consent decree hearings, and it isn’t sitting well with the Federal judge overseeing it.

A Federal judge canceled a public meeting related to the NOPD consent decree that was supposed to take place today, this because the City wouldn’t participate in the meeting.

Today at a news conference Mayor LaToya Cantrell said public meetings are out of the scope of the consent decree. She said no city employee would participate without her permission because they become a drain on time and resources for city members including members of the NOPD.

Mayor Cantrell says the City will continue to follow the consent decree, which was established nearly 11 years ago.

“Constitutional policing is part of that scope, and I’ve made it clear that we won’t participate in public meetings that are outside the scope of the consent decree,” Mayor Cantrell said.

Cantrell adds that the two areas of focus of the consent decree are to stop search and arrest and bias free policing.

U.S. District Judge Suzie Morgan released a statement saying that the court disagrees and public transparency and accountability are core elements to the consent decree.