Suing the Police to Save a City : Justice: New Orleans could be the first to feel new federal power against systemic abuse.

A little-noticed provision of last year’s crime bill gives the Justice Department the power to move against police departments that engage in systematic abuse. Until now, the department had been limited to bringing criminal actions against individual officers whose intimidation, beatings and killings have violated the rights of their victims. Under the new law, if the police engage in a pattern or practice of abuse, the U.S. attorney general can seek court injunctions forcing officials to clean up and clean out a contaminated department.

Atty. Gen. Janet Reno now has a perfect opportunity to test the injunctive remedy against the New Orleans Police Department, which for years has ranked among the top big-city departments in the number of citizen complaints about brutality. Police have harassed citizens, beaten arrestees and even killed four people during a rampage that followed the killing of a police officer. Over the past three years, 40 officers have been charged with crimes such as rape, robbery and theft.

Recently, a New Orleans police officer was charged with arranging the murder of a woman who had filed a brutality complaint against him. FBI agents discovered the murder scheme while they were investigating the officer and some of his fellow cops on suspicion of cocaine distribution. As shocking as a police-arranged execution is, it would not be enough to seek court-ordered reform of the entire Police Department.

But in New Orleans, corruption and brutality appear to be part of a police culture of violence and criminality. Everyone can agree that lawsuits are not the best answer to problems of police brutality. Comprehensive and enduring solutions lie in honest and effective leadership and management and in public accountability. And we should be wary of federal-court intrusion into local law-enforcement agencies. But sometimes a community is powerless to provide self-correction against widespread official abuse, and wise and sensitive court intervention may be the only way out. The Justice Department should seize the initiative and rescue the people of New Orleans.