2018 Annual Report

FIGURE 13: FOURTH AMENDMENT COMPLAINTS

FIGURE 14: FOURTH AMENDMENT ALLEGATIONS BY OUTCOME

Search and seizure and handcuffing and restraint were the two high risk allegations that composed Fourth Amendment allegations. According to NOPD data, illegal search and seizure was more prevalent than handcuffing and restraints in 2018 at 85.4% of allegations. There were 29 total Fourth Amendment sustained allegations in 2018.

Furthermore, NOPD’s data does not make is easy to identify possible 4 th Amendment related allegations. Moving forward, NOPD and OIPM will work on this issue together.

The outcomes of Fourth Amendment allegations were relatively similar for both search and seizure and handcuffing and restraint. In both instances, the number of sustained allegations matches that of those exonerated. This is a slight deviation from 2017, when exonerations were nearly twice as likely as sustained allegations. These findings may indicate a greater accountability mechanism in the department.