Holder to announce New Orleans police reforms

Holder to announce New Orleans police reforms

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Attorney General Eric Holder will announce a federal consent decree to require sweeping reform of the long-troubled New Orleans Police Department.

A person with direct knowledge of the plan says the reforms Holder will announce today in New Orleans are expected to be some of the broadest and strictest ever imposed on a police department. They will be overseen by a federal judge.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not yet been made public,

The department has been plagued by decades of corruption and mismanagement. It came under renewed scrutiny after Hurricane Katrina.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu asked the Justice Department for a review in 2010. The mayor will join Holder for the announcement.

A spokesman for Landrieu wouldn’t comment on today’s announcement.