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Ex-New Orleans cops get prison time in Danziger Bridge shootings
By the CNN Wire Staff,
April 4, 2012 -- Updated 2309 GMT (0709 HKT)
(CNN) -- A federal judge Wednesday sentenced
five former New Orleans police officers to prison terms ranging from six to 65
years for the shootings of unarmed civilians in the chaotic aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina, prosecutors said.
The
shootings occurred on the Danziger Bridge on September 4, 2005, six days after
much of New Orleans went underwater when the powerful hurricane slammed into
the Gulf Coast. The ex-officers were convicted in August on a combined 25
counts of civil rights violations.
U.S.
District Judge Kurt Engelhardt imposed the stiffest sentence on former officer
Robert Faulcon, who was handed a 65-year term for his involvement in shooting
two of the victims. Former sergeants Kenneth Bowen and Robert Gisevius got 40
years for their roles in the incident, while ex-officer Robert Villavaso was
sentenced to 38 years.
The
lightest term went to former detective sergeant Arthur Kaufman, who was
sentenced to six years for attempting to cover up what the officers had done,
according to the U.S. attorney's office in New Orleans.
The
men were accused of opening fire on an unarmed family, killing 17-year-old
James Brissette and wounding four others. Minutes later, Faulcon shot and
killed Ronald Madison, a 40-year-old man described by Justice Department officials
as having severe mental disabilities and who was trying to flee the scene when
he was shot, according to the Justice Department.
At
the time, New Orleans police said they got into a running gun battle with
several people. Prosecutors said Kaufman wrote the department's formal report
on the incident, which concluded the shootings were justified and recommended
the prosecution of two of the survivors "on the basis of false
evidence."
During
the trial, the defense asked the jury to consider the stressful circumstances
the officers were operating under following Katrina. The shootings took place
during a week of dire flooding, rampant looting and death by drowning, and
police were strained by suicides and desertion among their ranks.
But
U.S. Attorney Jim Letten said the prison sentences send the message that
"when the crisis we face is the most threatening, that when the challenges
are the greatest, the rules don't go out the window."
"In
fact, that's when the discipline, when the honesty of our public servants, our
police and the men and women of law enforcement are most critical," Letten
said.
Romell
Madison, brother of victim Ronald Madison, told reporters after Wednesday's
proceedings that his family was happy with the sentences, even though
prosecutors had to enter into plea agreements with several other officers to
obtain the convictions.
"I
think it made a big difference, even though they did give them lower sentences,
that they did come forth and testify to get the truth out," Madison said.
"At least we got to the truth."
Five
other officers, including a lieutenant, have already pleaded guilty and been
sentenced to prison terms of up to eight years in the case for conspiracy and
obstruction of justice. Letten said the plea deals were necessary to break a
"logjam" that had prevented investigators to get the whole story of
what happened on the Danziger Bridge, in New Orleans East.
The
Justice Department brought charges after a similar case brought by local
prosecutors foundered. Thomas Perez, the head of the department's civil rights
division, said the feds inherited a "cold case" when they took over
in 2008.
"There
were many, many New Orleans police officers who performed courageous, selfless
acts of heroism in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina," Perez said.
"But regrettably, the acts of heroism of so many have been overshadowed by
the misconduct of a few.
"What
we learned in this trial -- what we learned in these convictions -- is that the
Constitution never takes a holiday. The Constitution applies every day of every
week, and no police officer can take it upon himself or herself to suspend the
Constitution."
In
2010, three former officers were convicted in the case of 31-year-old Henry
Glover, who was shot to death and his body burned. David Warren, the officer
convicted of shooting Glover in the back, was sentenced to more than 25 years
in prison in 2011; Gregory McRae, who was found guilty of burning the body,
received a 17-plus-year term. A federal judge has ordered a new trial for the
third, Lt. Travis McCabe, who was accused of obstructing the investigation.
The
Justice Department's Civil Rights Division launched an investigation into what
it called "patterns or practices" of alleged misconduct by New
Orleans police in the aftermath of Katrina, which killed nearly 1,500 people in
Louisiana and more than 1,700 across the Gulf Coast.
Police
Superintendent Ronal Serpas said Wednesday that his department "will
continue to take bold and decisive actions to right the wrongs inside the
department, some of which we now know go back seven full years."
Mary
Howell, a lawyer for the Madison family, said those promised reforms are the
most critical part in all of this. "This just can't ever happen
again," she said.
Lance
Madison, who was with his brother on the bridge that September day, told
reporters that he is grateful that his brother had received justice. But he
added, "I try to avoid the Danzinger Bridge, because when I go there, it
just brings back memories of what I went through."