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New Orleans Must Pay $10 Million In Police Pay Lawsuit

The Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The Fraternal Order of Police won a 23-year-old fight with the City of New Orleans over police pay Monday when the state Supreme Court ordered the city to pay the group $10 million.

Mayor Ray Nagin said the city does not have the money right now and he will have to study his options and decide what to do next.

Lt. Henry Dean said the Fraternal Order of Police will work with the city.

The FOP went to court in 1980, saying officers were supposed to be getting $18 a month in supplemental pay from a property tax passed in 1928.

That money - plus legal interest and court costs - now comes to $10 million.

Henry Dean of the Fraternal Order of Police said that so many officers are on the list, he will have to hire an economist to figure out how much each will get.