Court meeting held on New Orleans police reforms

Attorneys for the city of New Orleans and the federal government met behind closed doors with a federal judge to discuss a new agreement to overhaul the New Orleans Police Department.

Participants in Thursday's status conference with U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan declined to go into details. U.S. Attorney Jim Letten described the meeting as productive but added that he was not at liberty to say more. It was unclear when Morgan might grant final court approval to the agreement, which was the result of long negotiations between the city and federal officials.

The agreement was announced Tuesday by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, roughly 16 months after Justice officials issued a report lambasting New Orleans police for discriminatory policing, excessive use of force and many other problems.