NOPD Case Study

The NOPD’s long history of scandal reveals its institutionalization of corruption and brutality. In November 1980, white officer Gregory Neupert was shot to death in the predominantly black neighborhood of Algiers. During the investigation into Neupert’s death, four civilians were killed and many other Algiers residents were injured in police roundups and raids. The residents filed civil lawsuits against the police alleging mistreatment. Mary Howell, a civil rights lawyer who represented some of the residents explained that there was no accountability or supervision while the police searched for Neupert’s killer. In 1983, after a federal investigation, seven officers were indicted and three were convicted of violating the civil rights of four civilians during the Neupert investigation. In 1986, New Orleans agrees to pay more than $2.8 million to settle the lawsuits. Charges relating to the four civilian deaths are never filed.

Archie was pursued by other officers, shot in the arm, and apprehended. While he was being driven from the scene, threats against his life were made by officers in the street and over the radio. Instead of being taken to the hospital, Archie was taken to Hauck’s station. He was eventually taken to the hospital and died hours later. New Orleans Coroner Frank Minyard ruled that Archie’s death was consistent with a bad fall, but Howell, representing Archie’s family, ordered another autopsy. The results indicated that he had been beaten to death and Minyard changed his cause of death to “homicide by police intervention.” After a six month investigation, the officers involved in the incident were cleared. The Department paid Archie’s family $333,000 in damages, a third of which was designated for Hauck’s