No. New Orleans is no longer under a federal consent decree. On November 19, 2025, U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan signed an order dissolving the agreement between the City of New Orleans and the U.S. Department of Justice that had placed the New Orleans Police Department under federal court supervision since 2012.1United States District Court Eastern District of Louisiana. NOPD Consent Decree, USA v. City of New Orleans, 12-cv-1924 In her order, Judge Morgan called the NOPD “a transformed agency” that “serves as a national model for other agencies,” while also cautioning that “there is much work to be done.”
How the Decree Ended
The agreement was supposed to end only after the city demonstrated “full and effective compliance” with every requirement for two consecutive years. In September 2024, the DOJ and the city jointly asked the court to begin that two-year sustainment period. Judge Morgan granted the request on January 14, 2025, approving a sustainment plan that identified specific requirements still needing work.2City of New Orleans. Order and Reasons Granting Joint Motion to Approve Sustainment Plan and Begin Sustainment Period
The sustainment period did not run its full course. In 2025, the Trump administration’s DOJ moved broadly to withdraw from police reform efforts nationwide, announcing it was stepping back from investigations and pending consent decrees in cities across the country. An executive order on law enforcement signaled the administration’s intent to end existing court-ordered police reform agreements in multiple jurisdictions.
In November 2025, the DOJ and the city filed a joint Rule 60(b)(5) motion asking Judge Morgan to dissolve the decree. That came roughly ten months into what was supposed to be a two-year sustainment period. She granted the motion on November 19, 2025, ending more than 13 years of federal oversight.1United States District Court Eastern District of Louisiana. NOPD Consent Decree, USA v. City of New Orleans, 12-cv-1924 The court-appointed monitor’s office, led by Jonathan Aronie throughout the life of the agreement, issued a final report concluding that the decree had reached a successful conclusion.
The city had tried to end the decree earlier. In August 2022, New Orleans filed its own motion to terminate, arguing the department had already achieved durable reforms and that monitoring had become an open-ended burden. The city also contended that DOJ had imposed shifting requirements and compliance thresholds that weren’t in the original agreement. Judge Morgan denied that motion, and she again denied a separate termination motion from the city in January 2025, which the city appealed to the Fifth Circuit.
Why NOPD Was Under a Consent Decree
Federal law allows the Attorney General to sue any law enforcement agency that engages in a pattern of conduct violating people’s constitutional rights. The statute, now codified at 34 U.S.C. § 12601, permits the government to seek court-ordered reforms when it finds systemic problems rather than isolated incidents.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 34 USC 12601 – Cause of Action
The DOJ investigation of NOPD found excessive and unjustified use of force, unconstitutional stops and searches, discrimination based on race and gender, mishandling of sexual assault and domestic violence cases, and a broken internal accountability system. On July 12, 2012, the city and DOJ entered the consent decree under Civil Action No. 12-1924 in the Eastern District of Louisiana. Over the next 13 years, the decree reshaped use of force policy, bias-free policing requirements, sexual assault and domestic violence investigations, training, recruitment, internal discipline, and officer secondary employment, and it cost the city tens of millions of dollars.2City of New Orleans. Order and Reasons Granting Joint Motion to Approve Sustainment Plan and Begin Sustainment Period
What Oversight Still Exists
The end of the consent decree did not leave NOPD entirely without external accountability, though the mechanisms that remain carry less force than a federal court order.
Before the decree ended, the city adopted regulations requiring the continuation of foundational reforms.4City of New Orleans. Consent Decree Within the department, the Professional Standards and Accountability Bureau now handles ongoing implementation of reforms that originated under the decree. The EPIC (Ethical Policing Is Courageous) program trains officers to intervene when a colleague is about to do something wrong, a peer accountability model the department developed during the consent decree era.
The city also maintains Police Community Advisory Boards in each police district. These boards consist of up to seven community volunteers who work alongside the district commander, hold public meetings, and submit recommendations to department leadership. Board meetings must be publicly announced, open to public comment, and documented.5City of New Orleans. Police Community Advisory Board (PCAB) Policy Manual The boards are advisory. They can recommend changes but cannot compel them.
Separately from the consent decree, the city’s Office of the Independent Police Monitor operates under the city charter with authority to monitor complaints, internal investigations, discipline, use of force, and in-custody deaths. The office reviews the quality and timeliness of NOPD investigations, analyzes complaint patterns, and conducts risk management reviews.6City of New Orleans. ERB Search for Independent Police Monitor Unlike the federal monitor, the Independent Police Monitor is a permanent city institution that existed before the decree and continues after it.
The department also publishes stop, search, arrest, and field interview data through its public transparency portal, a reporting practice the decree required and the city has committed to continue.7City of New Orleans. Browse NOPD Data and Public Records
Community Concerns About Ending It Early
Several organizations and individuals filed comments or public statements arguing that ending oversight more than a year ahead of the planned sustainment schedule was premature and politically motivated.
The ACLU of Louisiana said federal oversight remained “imperative for ensuring accountability, safeguarding vulnerable populations and fostering equitable treatment,” noting that racial disparities in the department’s use of force remained a “stark and persistent issue.” Civil rights attorney Mary Howell and sexual assault survivor Julie Ford submitted a comment warning that the department was “at a decade low in clearing sexual assault cases” and that the decree had been a chance to create change “in a meaningful and lasting way.” Other community members raised concerns about predictive policing, payroll fraud by officers, and continuing problems with the department’s internal affairs unit.
Those criticisms reflect a tension that ran through the entire life of the decree. The city viewed the agreement as an expensive constraint that had largely served its purpose. Community groups saw it as the only real leverage keeping the department on track.
How to File a Misconduct Complaint
If you witness or experience police misconduct in New Orleans, the department’s Public Integrity Bureau handles all formal complaints. You can file through a complaint form on the NOPD website. The form asks for your name, the date, time, and location of the incident, a description of what happened, a description of the officers involved, and any witness information.8City of New Orleans. Public Integrity Bureau
You can also request public records through the city’s online portal if you need department documents related to your complaint. The complaint process itself, along with its transparent intake requirements, was a product of the consent decree reforms the city’s post-decree regulations are designed to preserve. If you believe the department has failed to properly handle your complaint, the Office of the Independent Police Monitor can review how the internal investigation was conducted.