City lawyers say in federal court filing that Justice officials made misleading statements
New Orleans officials accuse the U.S. Justice Department of ``bad faith and deceptive tactics'' as the city presses its case to get out of a court-approved agreement for reform of the police department.
That agreement was praised by both sides when it was announced in July. But Mayor Mitch Landrieu has since complained that Justice lawyers made a separate agreement with the Orleans Parish sheriff for reform at the city-funded jail, and that implementing both pacts could be more than the city can afford.
In a Friday federal court filing, city lawyers say Justice officials have made misleading statements about the availability of federal grant money for police reforms; and about the role of a former federal attorney who, the city says, displayed bias against the police department in website postings.
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