After N.O. cops sentenced, focus shifts to reforms

After N.O. cops sentenced, focus shifts to reforms

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Justice Department’s push to clean up New Orleans’ troubled police department reached a milestone as a federal judge sentenced five former officers to prison terms of up to 65 years for their roles in the deadly shootings of unarmed residents on a bridge after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the city.

That effort is far from over, however. Now the focus shifts from the criminal courts to the civil arena, where federal and city officials are negotiating terms of a consent decree that would impose court-ordered reforms on the New Orleans Police Department.

Tom Perez, head of the Justice Department’s civil rights division, said after Wednesday’s sentencing hearing that he is confident a consent decree will be finalized in the “near future.”