“I think we’re doing pretty good without the consent decree.”

That was Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman's assessment of operations at Orleans Parish Prison (OPP).

Gusman took the witness stand today, and under cross-examination by former U.S. Attorney Harry Rosenberg — who is on the city of New Orleans' legal team — he categorically denied the allegations of expert witnesses and inmates who appeared in U.S. District Court over the past three days, all arguing in favor of a proposed federal consent decree for OPP.

On Monday, Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz, an expert on prison operations expert Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz, called OPP "likely the worst big city jail in the United States," and testified to finding evidence of widespread use of excessive force by deputies that often went uninvestigated.

Today, Gusman said that excessive force was rare, and “In every case where we could sustain a use of excessive force, we presented it to the District Attorney."

Gusman likewise denied reports of out-of-control violence and lack of adequate security from expert Manuel David Romero (whose testimony accompanied shocking video from inside the now-shuttered House of Detention), and testimony from Dr. Bruce Gage and Dr. Daphne Glindmeyer that the sheriff's office showed a reckless disregard for inmates' mental health.

Judging by Gusman's testimony, virtually every major point of the consent decree is unnecessary. Oddly, his office is here this week, in part, to argue for adoption of the agreement, which Gusman signed in December.

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Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman will testify in the Orleans Parish Prison consent decree hearing Thursday at 8:30 a.m., the last witness for this hearing, per an agreement attorneys and Judge Lance Africk reached this afternoon to expedite the proceeding. Also, the plaintiffs' have shortened their list of witnesses and will be finished presenting their case this afternoon. The city's only witness, Chief Administrative Officer Andy Kopplin, testified earlier today.

Afternoon testimony on day three included OPP inmate Aaron Steel, who has been in the jail since 2011 awaiting trial on a drug charge. Steel testified that he is chronically mentally ill. He said he is schizophrenic and has suffered from depression. He said that when he first entered the jail, he told doctors that he was suicidal and was placed on a suicide watch tier. On his first day, he said, he was alone in his cell, but "The next day, they were piling people up into that cell." Despite taking medication to treat his depression, Steel said OPP doctors did not prescribe him any antidepressants.

After five days, he said he told doctors he was no longer suicidal, only to get out of the cell. He was moved onto the psychiatric tier at Templeman V, which he described as "inhumane and barbaric." Steel described one incident there where he was attacked by another inmate with a 6-inch knife and another bludgeoned him with an object, causing injury, all as deputies were watching from just outside the tier. He said it took more than 10 minutes for deputies to intervene. He was eventually hospitalized.

"I went to University Hospital and received 8 staples in my head."

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As City Hall prepares to open the "one-stop shop," the Vieux Carre Commission (VCC) will close its new one-stop shop office and its French Quarter office on Royal Street as
it integrates into the newly formed "One Stop Shop" for permits and licenses. The VCC will reopen 9 a.m. Monday, March 11.

The VCC will have a "daily presence" at the One Stop Shop. From 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, a VCC staff member will host office hours at the Royal Street location for "drop-ins and general questions" but not application drop-offs.

Last week, the City announced a website, a beta mobile app, and a physical office opening inside City Hall to function as a "One Stop Shop to improve and streamline the customer experience related to securing permits and licenses." The City Planning Commission, Historic Districts Landmarks Commission, Safety & Permits and VCC share space in room 7W303 on the seventh floor of City Hall.