Federal judge threw out 2011 convictions after prosecutors made anonymous online posts
By Kevin McGill
Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Federal prosecutors are asking an appeals court to reinstate the convictions of five former New Orleans police officers on civil rights charges stemming from the deadly shootings of unarmed civilians in storm-struck New Orleans in 2005.
Four of the men are charged in the shootings at the Danziger Bridge, which happened a week after Hurricane Katrina hit the city and levee failures led to catastrophic flooding. A fifth ex-cop is charged in the cover-up that fell apart as federal investigators bore down.
Their 2011 convictions were thrown out by a federal judge who said anonymous online postings by prosecutors tainted the case. The officers remain jailed while prosecutors worked to convince judges on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday that the convictions should stand.
The appeals court arguments come months ahead of the 10th anniversary of Katrina - and at a time when police officers' use of force against the unarmed is under high scrutiny after the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri; Walter Scott in North Charleston, South Carolina; Eric Garner in New York City and Freddy Gray in Baltimore.
As in those incidents, the victims in the Danziger shootings were black. However, some of the officers implicated in the shootings or cover-up, including two among the five convicted at trial, are black.
The case dates back to Sep. 4, 2005, a week after the hurricane struck. The city remained badly flooded, with utilities out everywhere and the police force under strain.
Police shot and killed two unarmed people and wounded four others at the Danziger Bridge.
Police said at the time that the officers were responding to a report of other officers down when they came under fire. Police also claimed one of the men, Ronald Madison, was reaching for a gun. Madison, a 40-year-old mentally disabled man, and James Brissette, 19, were killed on the bridge.
Convicted in the shootings and cover-up were two former sergeants, Robert Gisevius and Kenneth Bowen, and former officers Anthony Villavaso and Robert Faulcon.
Former Sgt. Arthur "Archie" Kaufman also was convicted in the cover-up.
Faulcon was sentenced to 65 years in prison; Bowen and Gisevius, to 40 years; Villavaso, to 38; Kaufman, to six.
Five former officers cooperated with a Justice Department investigation and pleaded guilty to engaging in a cover-up designed to make the shootings appear justified.
The convictions added to a list of scandals that had plagued the police department over the years, including convictions of officers for various charges of corruption and abuse of force.
But a scandal at the U.S. Attorney's Office undid the convictions.
Attorneys for a prominent businessman under federal scrutiny exposed U.S. Attorney Sal Perricone as the writer of anonymous posts on a newspaper website. At least two other prosecutors eventually were implicated in online posts as well.
Defense attorneys argued that the posts, along with leaks to media about a pending guilty plea by an officer involved in the case, were part of a "secret public relations campaign" that deprived the officers of a fair trial.
Eventually, U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt ordered the new trial, saying posts by Perricone and others contributed to a "carnival atmosphere" that tainted the case.
Prosecutors, in briefs ahead of Wednesday's arguments, said there is no evidence that media leaks or the online posts influenced the jury and that there was no need for Engelhardt to order a new trial.
Perricone and another assistant U.S. attorney resigned after news of the online postings surfaced. Their boss, Jim Letten, also stepped down, although he was not implicated in the postings.
Published: Thu, Apr 30, 2015
