I put it right back to him: how come you're not asking me if the cop has a record of brutality complaints?

He has not heard a lot of brutality complaints, he said.

Still, many brutality complaints do involve white officers and black victims.

"While the police have not been responsive to brutality complaints," says Feige, "they do seem willing to root out corruption."

The brutality problem has clearly been worst in minority neighborhoods, which account for about 80 percent of all brutality complaints.

Both actions were credited with reducing the number of brutality complaints against the city's police to 825 in 1982 from 2,323 in 1975.

His record included 11 abuse and brutality complaints in as many years.

In 1981, New Orleans led the nation in the rate of brutality complaints, and it has been among the leaders ever since.

Indeed, he said, the number of brutality complaints his group received against minority police officers was increasing.

The vast majority of brutality complaints are handled by the local police.