Background Interviews on Mr. Michael Harrison Nominee to lead Baltimore City Police Department March 1, 2019 Prepared by: Bernard C. “Jack” Young Robert Stokes Kristerfer Burnett Dear citizen, Beginning in late January, and over the course of several days, a two-person delegation of members of the Baltimore City Council spent nearly 11 complete hours conducting background interviews with roughly 23 individuals in New Orleans and remotely via telephone. The purpose of the delegation’s trip to New Orleans and subsequent interviews was to inform the Baltimore City Council as it prepares to conduct a confirmation hearing for Mr. Michael Harrison, Mayor Catherine Pugh's nominee to lead the Baltimore City Police Department. What follows are firsthand accounts gathered from subjects who’ve encountered Mr. Harrison during his time as Superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department. A licensed court reporter was used to create transcripts of meetings with elected officials and community leaders. The transcript appears in its original format and provides an unedited account of dialogue during interviews conducted in New Orleans. In order to preserve the authenticity of the transcripts produced by the court reporter, we have refrained from editing those sections. The interviews that were conducted by phone were transcribed by staff to the Baltimore City Council and appear with limited editing. Contents Schedule: ...................................................................................................................................................... 4 Telephone interviews ................................................................................................................................. 5 Councilwoman Cyndi Nguyen .................................................................................................................. 6 Tania Tetlow, President, Loyola University New Orleans ..................................................................... 11 Mayor LaToya Cantrell ........................................................................................................................... 13 Day 1 – January 31, 2019 ............................................................................................................................ 16 Councilman Jason Rogers Williams ....................................................................................................... 20 Councilman Joseph Giarusso & Councilman Jared Brossett ........................................................... 61 Councilwoman Kristin Gisleson Palmer ................................................................................................. 65 Margaret Montgomery-Richard & David St. Etienne ............................................................................ 94 Community Discussion ......................................................................................................................... 126 Day 2 – February 1, 2019 .......................................................................................................................... 191 Fraternal Order of Police ...................................................................................................................... 192 Councilwoman Helena Moreno ........................................................................................................... 239 Tenisha Stevens .................................................................................................................................... 251 Melanie Talia ........................................................................................................................................ 280 Schedule: Friday, January 25, 2019 o 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Telephone interview with Councilwoman Cyndi Nguyen (Councilwoman Nguyen’s schedule conflicted with the dates members of the Baltimore delegation were schedule to be in New Orleans) Tuesday, January 29, 2019 o 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Telephone interview with Tania Tetlow, President, Loyola University New Orleans (President Tetlow’s schedule conflicted with the dates members of the Baltimore delegation were schedule to be in New Orleans) o 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Telephone interview with New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell (Mayor Cantrell’s schedule conflicted with the dates members of the Baltimore delegation were schedule to be in New Orleans) Thursday, January 31, 2019 o 12:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. New Orleans City Hall – 1300 Perdido Street, New Orleans, LA o 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. CC’s Coffee House – 2800 Esplanade Avenue, New Orleans, LA o 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Corpus Christi – Epiphany Catholic Church – 2022 Saint Bernard Avenue, New Orleans, LA Friday, February 1, 2019 o 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Fraternal Order of Police, Crescent City Lodge #2 – 101 West Robert E. Lee Boulevard, New Orleans, LA o 11:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. New Orleans City Hall – 1300 Perdido Street, New Orleans, LA o 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. New Orleans City Hall – 1300 Perdido Street, New Orleans, LA 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation – 1615 Poydras Street, New Orleans, LA Telephone interviews 1. Councilwoman Cyndi Nguyen 2. Tania Tetlow, President, Loyola University New Orleans 3. Mayor LaToya Cantrell Councilwoman Cyndi Nguyen Friday, January 25, 2019 Q: Last May, a report in The Times-Picayune noted that Mayor Landrieu’s office expected the New Orleans Police Department to come into full compliance by the end of 2018. According to the article, “if that happens, and the judge is later satisfied that the department remains in compliance during the two-year sustained monitoring period, federal oversight of NOPD will end.” But a December report in The Times-Picayune noted that ‘Substantial work’ remains on NOPD’s consent decree. Can you talk about why you believe the NOPD, under Superintendent Harrison, failed to live up to the promise of exiting the federal consent decree by the end of 2018? Nguyen: I believe …. I’m a new city council member. I want to have that full disclosure. I came on in May and prior to that I was a citizen. What I was told was that NOPD was ahead of the consent decree, meaning the department was able to address many of the issues with the consent decree. Under the leadership of Chief Harrison…. You guys are getting an amazing guy. I can share with you, as a citizen, before I came on the Council he was a commander in the district where I lived. The previous commander of the district office and I didn’t have a relationship at all. When Commander Harrison came on that whole dynamic changed. He was open to listening and engaging and trying new tactics. This district is the largest district in New Orleans. We still have work to do in my district to reduce crime but he’s been engaged in the community. You guys are going to get a guy who’s equipped with all sorts of tactical skills but he’s also a very hard working person. I’m disappointed that I only got seven months to work with him. I’m still trying to get the pulse of the consent decree but I know that we are ahead of the game, which I’m very proud of. A lot of his program has made national news and a lot of people from his department have traveled around the country helping other departments. I’m proud of the record that he’s been able to produce for us. Q: There’s a wealth of information online related to NOPD’s compliance with the federally-mandated consent decree. Could you talk a little about what, in your experience, Superintendent Harrison may struggle with as he prepares to tackle Baltimore’s consent decree? I’m still trying to get a full understanding of the consent decree because it’s thousands of pages. One of the aspects of the consent decree deals with serving bilingual people. Prior to the consent decree, we did not do an extensive recruitment for bilingual officers. When you have officers come out and there’s a lack of cultural understanding and language barriers. In the past that’s been ignored. When the consent decree identified that as a problem the chief immediately jumped on it. We have at least 15 bilingual officers. That number may seem small to you but it’s more than we used to have. Q: In the first few years after NOPD entered into a consent decree, how did Superintendent Harrison handle that process? Were there areas where he needed improvement? I don’t think I have enough information on when the consent decree came out. I was a citizen and was not engaged in it. this is just my opinion but when you lead a department and a consent decree comes down on you of course it’s disappointing. But he also understood that having the consent decree allowed him to address issues within the department. He embraced and tackled the issues and did not avoid them. Working with the police monitoring, the judge and the community and all sorts of advocacy groups he handled it in a way that people had faith that it would be addressed. He’s one that would embrace other perspectives. He’s open. Q: In Baltimore, we’ve heard stories about officers who are afraid to engage in policing for fear that they’ll violate the consent decree. Did Mr. Harrison face a similar challenge in New Orleans? If so, how did he manage that process? I have not witnessed that. Michael Harrison has always engaged well with the community. No, I have not heard that from the rank and file. Q: How would you describe Mr. Harrison’s ability to implement community-based policing practices? Can you speak to specific examples? My district never had a relationship with