The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) has taken a critical step toward ending more than a decade of federal oversight following a damning Department of Justice report dating back to 2011. U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan approved a two-year "sustainment period" on Tuesday.

The New Orleans Police Department can begin ending its longstanding federal oversight, a judge ruled Tuesday in response to a request from the city and the Justice Department to wind down the monitoring program.