Attorney General Eric Holder To Announce New Orleans Police Reforms

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Attorney General Eric Holder on Tuesday 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, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not yet been made public, says Mayor Mitch Landrieu will join Holder for the announcement Tuesday afternoon in New Orleans.

The reforms — with oversight of a federal judge — are expected to be some of the broadest and strictest ever imposed on a police department.

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

At Landrieu's request, the Justice Department began a review in 2010.

A spokesman for Landrieu wouldn't comment on Tuesday's announcement.