N.O. cops convicted of Katrina rampage

Jordan Flaherty, author of Floodlines: Community and Resistance from Katrina to the Jena Six, reports on the murder trial of five New Orleans cops for ColorLines.

August 10, 2011

Community members celebrate news of the convictions outside the courthouseCommunity members celebrate news of the convictions outside the courthouse

IN A historic verdict with national implications, five New Orleans police officers were convicted August 5 of civil rights violations for killing unarmed African Americans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and could face life in prison when sentenced later this year. The case, involving a grisly encounter on the Danziger Bridge, was the highest-profile of a number of prosecutions that seek to hold police accountable for violence in the storm's wake.

The officers' conviction on all 25 counts (on two counts, the jury found the men guilty, but with partial disagreements on the nature of the crime, which could slightly affect sentencing) comes nearly six years after the city was devastated by floodwaters and government inaction.

The verdict helps rewrite the history of what happened in the chaotic days after the levees broke. And the story of how these convictions happened is important for anyone around the U.S. seeking to combat law enforcement violence.

The results of this trial also have national implications for those seeking federal support in challenges to police abuses in other cities. New Orleans is one of four major cities in which the Department of Justice has stepped in to look at police departments. Any success here has far-reaching implications for federal investigations in Denver, Seattle, Newark and other cities.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

THE DANZIGER Bridge case begins with Hurricane Katrina. As images of desperate survivors played on television, people around the world felt sympathy for people waiting for rescue after the storm. But then images of families trapped on rooftops were replaced by stories of armed gangs and criminals roaming the streets.

News reports famously described white people as "finding" food, while depicting Black people as "looting." Then-Police Chief Eddie Compass told Oprah Winfrey that "little babies (are) getting raped" in the Superdome. Then-Gov. Kathleen Blanco announced she had sent in troops with orders to shoot to kill, and the second in charge of the police department reportedly told officers to fire at will on looters.

Evidence suggests that the NOPD acted on these instructions. On September 2, just days after the storm, a Black man named Henry Glover was shot by a police sniper as he walked through a parking lot. When a good Samaritan tried to help Glover get medical help, he was beaten by officers, who burnt Glover's body and left it behind a levee. The next day, a 45-year-old named Danny Brumfield, Sr., was killed by officers in front of scores of witnesses outside the New Orleans convention center when he ran after a police car to demand that they stop and provide aid.

The following morning, two families were crossing New Orleans' Danziger Bridge, which connects Gentilly and New Orleans East, two mostly middle-to-upper-class African American neighborhoods. Without warning, a Budget Rental truck carrying police officers arrived, and cops jumped out. The officers did not identify themselves, and began firing before their vehicle had even stopped.

Officers had heard a radio call about shootings in the area, and according to prosecutors, they were seeking revenge.

James Brisette, a 17-year-old called studious and nerdy by his friends, was shot nearly a dozen times and died at the scene. Many of the bullets hit him as he lay on the ground bleeding. Four other people were wounded, including Susan Bartholomew, a 38-year-old mother who had her arm shot off of her body, and her 17-year old daughter Lesha, who was shot while crawling on top of her mother's body, trying to shield her from bullets. Lesha's cousin Jose was shot point-blank in the stomach and nearly died. He needed a colostomy bag for years afterward.

Further up the bridge, officers chased down Ronald Madison, a mentally challenged man, who was traveling with his brother Lance. Ronald was shot in the back by one officer, and then stomped and kicked to death by another. Lance was arrested and charged with firing at officers, and spent weeks behind bars.

At the time, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported that officers "sent up a cheer" when word came over police radios that suspects had been shot and killed.

A cursory investigation by the NOPD justified the shooting, and it appeared that the matter was closed. In fact, for years, every check and balance in the city's criminal justice system failed to find any fault in this or other officer-involved shootings from the days after the storm.

Eddie Jordan, the city's first Black district attorney, pursued charges against the officers in late 2006. When the cops went to turn themselves in, they were greeted by a crowd of hundreds of officers, who cheered for them and called them heroes. Before the case could make it to trial, it was dismissed by a judge with close ties to the defense lawyers, and soon after that, Jordan was forced to resign.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

AFTER THE charges brought by Jordan were dismissed, the story of police violence after Katrina remained untold.

Jordan believes an indifferent local media bears partial responsibility for the years of cover-up. "They were looking for heroes," he says. "They had a cozy relationship with the police. They got tips from the police; they were in bed with the police. It was an atmosphere of tolerance for atrocities from the police. They abdicated their responsibility to be critical in their reporting. If a few people got killed, that was a small price to pay."

Other elected officials, like the city coroner, went along with the police version of events. For example, the coroner's office never flagged Henry Glover's body, found burned in a car, as a potential homicide.

But the Madisons, the Bartholomews and the Glovers, along with family members of other police violence victims, refused to be silent. They continued to speak out at press conferences, rallies and directly to reporters. They worked with organizations like Safe Streets Strong Communities, which was founded by criminal justice activists in the days after Katrina, and Community United for Change, which was formed in response to police abuses.(more at link)