NEW ORLEANS – A former New Orleans Police Department recruit alleges he was on the receiving end of the department’s “pattern and practice” of discriminating against Black recruits.
Plaintiff Latham Mims, who is Black, filed his lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
In his 10-page complaint, he contends the City of New Orleans and Anne Kirkpatrick, superintendent of the NOPD, violated the federal Civil Rights Act and Louisiana Employment Discrimination Law.
“Defendants discriminated against Plaintiff on the basis of race,” the complaint states. “Plaintiff was treated differently because of his race as an African American.
“He was treated more harshly, targeted, scrutinized, and/or disciplined more severely than other non-African American and similarly situated employees.”
Kirkpatrick, who is white, is the chief executive in charge of the NOPD, overseeing all employment matters.
According to his filing, Mims began working with the NOPD in August 2024. He became a police recruit as of Aug. 18, 2024 and entered the Police Academy in NOPD’s Recruit Class 203 on Aug. 26, 2024.
Police recruits engage in a variety of objective and subjective module tests during their time in the academy, Mims explains in the filing.
During the last week of January 2025, the 17 recruits of Class 203 were given a subjective simulation test. The simulation test required NOPD sergeants to select the partners for each recruit.
Mims was partnered with 10 different recruits during the simulations. Only one of his partners passed the simulation testing. More than half of the class failed the simulation testing.
Recruits were never given a rubric or scoring sheet for the simulations, he notes in the filing.
Prior to this test, Mims claims he passed every previous testing module.
The week of March 6, 2025, the recruits who failed the simulation testing were given remedial training, which was videotaped and graded.
Five recruits, including Mims, failed this second simulation test. Out of the five recruits, four were Black men and one a white female recruit.
“The simulation testing is completely subjective,” the complaint states. “The scores can be altered.”
On March 21, 2025, NOPD told the five recruits they would have to appear before the Academy Review Panel, which consisted of four NOPD captains. A sixth recruit – a white male – also appeared before the panel for failing the physical training test multiple times.
Four days later, Mims appeared before the panel with the other recruits who failed the second simulation test.
The panel did not review videotaped simulations for these recruits, Mims alleges.
The panel had the option to recycle the recruits into a future recruit class, terminate them, or allow them to continue training with stipulations.
Both white recruits – one female, one male – were either recycled or allowed to retest. Meanwhile, Mims and the other three black recruits were all recommended for termination.
Mims argues he had passed all other testing modules with an average score of 91 percent, but only failed to satisfy the subjective simulation minimum score of 70 percent.
Deputy Chief Lawrence Dupree, who is Black, reversed the panel’s decision and allowed the Black recruits, including Mims, to be recycled and placed in Recruit Class 205.
Dupree explained he believed Mims would benefit from additional training, especially because he did not see anything egregious done in the simulation videos.
On March 31, 2025, Mims was told the new academy start date would begin April 21, 2025. He was placed on the list of Recruit Class 205. In the interim, Mim was sent to work at NOPD’s carpenter shop.
On or about April 10, 2025, Dupree retired.
Nearly two weeks later, Mims reported with Recruit Class 205 for the first day of the academy as a recycled recruit. That same day, Mims and another recycled recruit, also Black, were pulled out of class and told Kirkpatrick had not signed off on their recycling. They were told to report to the carpenter shop.
On May 1, 2025, Mims was called to NOPD’s Human Resource Division and was terminated.
Mims seeks compensatory damages, court costs and attorney fees.
He is represented in the action by attorney Stephanie Dovalina of Gretna, Louisiana.
