Alleged Katrina Killer Cops Are Indicted

July 14th, 2010

Cops could face death in post-Katrina shootings
Associate Press
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, Associated Press Writer Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press Writer – Wed Jul 14, 6:14 am ET

NEW ORLEANS – Four New Orleans police officers could face the death penalty after being accused of gunning down two unarmed people in the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in the latest twist for a corruption-plagued department that already faces several federal investigations.

The four officers were charged along with two others in a 27-count indictment unsealed Tuesday.

The indictment charges Sgts. Robert Gisevius and Kenneth Bowen, officer Anthony Villavaso and former officer Robert Faulcon with deprivation of rights under color of law and use of a weapon during the commission of a crime. They could face the death penalty if convicted, though U.S. Attorney Jim Letten said prosecutors haven’t decided whether to seek that punishment.

Five former New Orleans police officers already have pleaded guilty to helping cover up the shootings on the Danziger Bridge that left two men dead and four wounded just days after the August 2005 hurricane that devastated the city.

In one instance, a mentally disabled man was allegedly shot in the back and stomped before he died.

Prosecutors say officers fabricated witness statements, falsified reports and planted a gun in an attempt to make it appear the shootings were justified. It was a shocking example of the violence and confusion that followed the deadly hurricane.

The New Orleans police department had grave corruption problems before Katrina, from murder to drug distribution, and the associate press article goes on to talk about the many federal probes into the department that preceeded the flood. It continues with this:

The new batch of federal probes are bearing fruit as the city welcomes a new mayor, Mitch Landrieu, and his new police superintendent, Ronal Serpas. At Landrieu’s request, the Justice Department launched the top-to-bottom review of the department.

Serpass was until a couple of months ago the Chief of Police in Nashville Tennessee where I reside. I was with him on May 5th just a couple of days after the floods here Nashville touring damaged areas with the Mayor (Karl Dean).

Nashville Flood 11
[Serpas in the Bordeaux area of North Nashville, which took a lot of water from nearby White's Creek.]

Serpas is not new to New Orleans, though. He’s from the area, and was previously a New Orleans police officer himself. Serpas was Assistant Superintendent of Police and the first Chief of Operations of the New Orleans Police Department; before he was head of the Washington State High Patrol for 2 and a half years before coming to Nashville in 2004. Chief Serpas also has a Doctorate in Urban Studies, with an emphasis in Urban Crime, from the University of New Orleans.

His relationship with Black Nashville was tenious. The largest issue was selective enforcement, and what many of us saw as a clearing out policy in East Nashville neighborhoods where gentrifications of whites moving to the long-time majority black populated ares of midtown areas off downtown, became a popular thing around 2006.

Back to the main issue at hand; the prosecution of these types of rouge, wild west shootings by police during the aftermath of Katrina, is something I certainly thought I’d never see prosecuted. The stories of these events have been out there for years, and as the case was dismissed in state court, it seems that these sorts of things are never prosecuted.

I’m glad the justice department is getting involved; we know how Louisiana justice work, especially when it has to do with either race, or crimes committed by authorities.



posted in Uncategorized | | | View blog reactions |


Leave a Reply




About The Blog

  • D. Yobachi Boswell

  • Yobachi Boswell is creator and publisher of BlackPerspecitve.net. I’m a writer, activist and political watcher based in Nashville, Tennessee. I’ve also been know to do some spoken word and MCing in my day.

    I created this site to give new voice to socio-political issues that are in need of thoughtful consideration and redress.

    Click the "More About The Blog" link for rest of this statement.

    Also, if you like what you see, subscribe for a once a day email to be sent on days when we post by entering your email address in the feed burner subscription box below.
  • More About The Blog...

Subscribe via email

Enter your email address in the box below to receive a notice everytime there's a new post at BlackPerspective.net! Your information will not be sold or shared.

Delivered by FeedBurner

Blogroll

Site Meter

Meta



Subscribe Via RSS

Add to any service
Add to Technorati Favorites

My Twitter

Recent Posts

Podcast


Podcast Commenting


Click here to comment on the podcast messages. Click on the title of the message you want in order to comment. Or you can comment to the post which the podcast may refer to.