Earlier: Tracie Washington of the Louisiana Justice Institute demands more info on Allen shooting

The stuff that's actually new information is in bold:

New Orleans Police Department- Public Information Office

An Update on the Investigation into the Police-Involved Shooting on Prentiss Avenue

(March 13, 2012)- Superintendent Ronal Serpas today provided an update for the community on the investigation of the police-involved shooting in the 2600-block of Prentiss Avenue on Wednesday, March 8, 2012. The shooting occurred during the serving of a narcotics search warrant at the house, which resulted in the death of 20-year-old Wendell Allen.

The criminal investigation, which started the night of the incident, includes the interviews of witnesses and the processing of forensic evidence recovered from the scene. This investigation is being conducted jointly by detectives from the Homicide Division and supervisors from the Public Integrity Bureau (PIB) and includes continual review and unfettered access by FBI agents assigned to PIB. There is active and ongoing communication with the Office of the District Attorney as well as the Independent Police Monitor. Much has already been accomplished involving statements from NOPD officers and civilians, including adults and children who were present at the time of the shooting.

As a part of the on-going criminal investigation, investigators have sought to obtain a voluntary statement from Officer Joshua Colclough, who fired his service weapon one time, fatally wounding Wendell Allen. Officer Colclough has retained counsel. Criminal investigators have contacted his attorney for several days to ask the officer to make a statement, but his attorney has not made Officer Colclough available to do so. As PIB protocol dictates, following the shooting, Officer Colclough was immediately reassigned to desk duty.

“It is critical that this Department and this community understand what happened that night on Prentiss Avenue. A complete and thorough criminal investigation is a vital part of that process of understanding, and we cannot take any action which could possibly put a criminal investigation in jeopardy,” said Superintendent Serpas.

“If the officer were forced to give a statement to police, that statement could not be used against him in a criminal case, if it became necessary to do so. We will continue to work to get a voluntary statement from Officer Colclough, but a thorough investigation will be completed with or without it.”

As first reported by Fox 8, the following letter has been posted on the Police Association of New Orleans' (PANO) website since yesterday. It's not attributed to PANO but to "a platoon of officers from a police district in the NOPD" and details a number of complaints about the department's current direction.

Gambit has requested NOPD comment on the letter and is awaiting a response here's a statement from Superintendent Ronal Serpas:

"We regularly hear from hundreds of hard-working New Orleans Police officers who appreciate that this department is undergoing a transformation to make it better, and they're excited to be a part of this. I want to thank them for their dedication, their patience, and I share with them their desire to succeed so that we can better serve the people of New Orleans."

Specific issues highlighted in the letter:

—An alleged shift of focus from responding to citizen complaints to "obtaining ‘stats’ (arrests and other 'activity' to generate statistical evidence of work), so the leadership can have numbers to justify their actions"

—The department's new policy of issuing summonses, rather than arresting offenders, for many misdemeanors and municipal violations, in cases where suspects' have no serious criminal records. The anonymous officers say "should be left to the discretion of the officer and his supervisors in the field."

Note: Of course, that policy was implemented as a response to reports showing that NOPD arrest rates were remarkably high, filling up jails and costing the city in per diem payments to the sheriff's office, not to mention eating up police officers' time. The Department of Justice, in its March 2011-released investigation (PDF link) of the NOPD, also criticized the department for being too arrest-focused.

—Manpower: "Of the estimated manpower of 1300 Officers, the platoons who provide the basic police service, the uniformed officers in your neighborhood who answer your calls, are about 300 to 400. These men and women, with some exceptions, are forced to work in one Officer units. This is dangerous for the Officers as well as for the Citizens who depend on us."

(Read the full letter plus the PANO introduction after the jump)