Sentencing in the Danziger Bridge Massacre

Tonight a rare waft of justice arose from the steamy swamps surrounding New Orleans and I feel compelled to return to Xavier Thoughts to notate the fact. Earlier today, in a court of law, four murderers and one lying dog were sentenced in the killing of innocent people and the maiming of four others struggling to survive in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina in New Orleans Louisiana.

U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt imposed the harshest sentence on Robert Faulcon, who was handed a 65 year term for his involvement in killing two of the victims. Kenneth Bowen and Robert Gisevius got 40 years for their roles in the murders, while Robert Villavaso was sentenced to 38 years. All were New Orleans police officers. Arthur Kaufman was sentenced to six years or his role in transforming the internal investigation into a police cover-up of the crimes. He, too, was a New Orleans police officer.

In court, Lance Madison, the brother of slain Ronald Madison declared "You are the reason I can no longer trust law enforcement." Indeed.

Since I first began blogging on the Danziger Bridge Massacre in 2005, two months after hurricane Katrina, I discussed the incident with many police officers who were both friends and acquantiences. To a man they all believed that the murderers involved would ultimately be vindicated. How is it that police officers can be so blinded by a badge that they cannot discern murder when it is under their very noses? It's disgusting. Shameful. Sad. This is the reason that no intelligent citizen can trust police officers in the United States any longer. They have removed themselves from society, mentally placed themselves in a special place with special privileges and they view citizens as either criminals or criminals in waiting.

"There were many, many New Orleans police officers who performed courageous, selfless acts of heroism in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina," Assistant U.S. Attorney General Thomas Perez stated. "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."

Those sentenced today were convicted last August on all charges, though a jury somehow found that their actions did not constitute murder. Their seven week trial included testimony from five other former NOPD officers who plead guilty and testified against their former brothers in blue. Thus far, prosecutors have secured eleven convictions in the Danziger Bridge Massacre, from ten NOPD officers to a St. Landry Parish man who impersonated a sheriff's deputy. The Danziger Massacre was a focal point in a series of Justice Department investigations of post-Katrina police wrongdoing that has resulted in a total of fifteen convictions of NOPD officers.

In 2010, three former New Orleans police officers were convicted in the case of Henry Glover, who was murdered and his body burned to conceal the fact. David Warren was convicted of shooting Glover in the back. He 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 sentence. A federal judge has ordered a new trial for the third former police officer Travis McCabe, who was accused of obstructing the investigation. The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division launched an investigation into what it has called "patterns or practices" of misconduct by New Orleans police in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, which killed nearly 1,500 people in Louisiana and more than 1,700 across the Gulf Coast.


Robert Faulcon, Jr.: 6 counts of deprivation of rights under color of law, 3 counts of using a weapon during commission of a crime of violence, 1 count of conspiracy, 2 counts of obstruction of justice, and 1 count of civil rights conspiracy. 65 years imprisonment.

Kenneth Bowen: 6 counts of deprivation of rights under color of law, 2 counts of using a weapon during commission of a crime of violence, 1 count of conspiracy, 2 counts of obstruction of justice, and 1 count of civil rights conspiracy. 40 years imprisonment.

Robert Gisevius, Jr.: 5 counts of deprivation of rights under color of law, 2 counts of using a weapon during commission of a crime of violence, 1 count of conspiracy, 1 count of obstruction of justice, and 2 counts of civil rights conspiracy. 40 years imprisonment.

Anthony Villavaso II: 5 counts of deprivation of rights under color of law, 2 counts of using a weapon during commission of a crime of violence, 1 count of conspiracy, 1 count of obstruction of justice, and 1 count of civil rights conspiracy. 38 years imprisonment.

Arthur Kaufman: 4 counts of falsifying official records in a federal investigation, 3 counts of false statements, 2 counts of civil rights conspiracy for false persecution, and 1 count of conspiracy. 6 years imprisonment.

Federal Charges Filed in the Danziger Bridge Massacre

It looks as though the Feds have brought charges against the real shooters of the Danziger Bridge Massacre. This has been a long time coming. I first blogged on this monumental abuse of police authority five years ago. Now, finally, the death penalty is a possibility.

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One cannot help but wonder if the usual antagonists failed to get behind the push for justice in this case because of the difficulty in painting it as a racial killing. Exactly fifty percent of the gun men are black. The current US Attorney General is certainly no friend of gun owners or free thinking Americans, but I will give credit where it is due. His department got this one right.

Danziger Update

Today, a former New Orleans police lieutenant entered a guilty plea stating that he conspired to obstruct justice regarding the Danziger Bridge Massacre. Federal prosecutors say Lt. Michael Lohman took part in a scheme to plant a gun at the scene, and helped rewrite police reports to make a fabricated version of the tragedy seem more plausible.

New Orleans police officers Sgt. Robert Gisevius and Sgt. Arthur Kaufman have received letters stating they are targets of the federal investigation into the killings on the Danziger Bridge in the wake of hurricane Katrina. Gisevius is accused of being one of the shooters. There is not yet any word whether the other officers involved have been notified they are targets of the federal investigation, but the bill of information against Lohman is clear that others wil be charged. It is quite possible the Feds are waiting to see if the news of Lohman's plea bargain and cooperation will turn another witness, perhaps one who was present at the scene of the killings.

Six civilians were shot by police officers on the bridge on Sept. 4, 2005. Two of them, Ronald Madison, a 40-year-old man with the mental capacity of a child, and 19-year-old James Brissette were killed. The other civilians were severely wounded. Police officers were responding to a report that snipers were firing at helicopters from the bridge. This report was later shown to be untrue.

"In any circumstance, that's a critical call, a high-risk call," Eric Hessler, the attorney representing Gisevius stated. "It raises your adrenaline, it automatically puts you in fear for your life. And when you are responding to that call in the midst of Katrina, when all kinds of misinformation is being given out, you are certainly going to be in a heightened state."

"I can assure you, when my client left the back of that box vehicle, there was gunfire all over," Hessler claimed. "And in that situation, he is reasonably fearing for his life."


Sgt. Kaufman was one of the lead investigators assigned to get to the truth of what happened on the Danziger bridge. The investigation claimed the shooting was justifiable. Federal prosecutors are now describing the investigation as "corrupt." Last August, the FBI conducted a surprise search of Kaufman's office and seized files and computer hard drives. The New Orleans police has maintained that the officers involved only fired upon the group of civilians when they themselves were fired upon. Charges against the seven officers involved in the shooting were dismissed on a technicality by Criminal District Court Judge Raymond Bigelow in August, 2008.

This week, the FBI confirmed they are also investigating the police shooting of a 41-year-old Connecticut man in the Faubourg Marigny five days after Katrina, and the NOPD acknowledges the agency has received federal subpoenas for documents related to two other post-Katrina police shootings.

Danziger Bridge Charges Go Away

Charges against the "Danziger Seven", were thrown out of court by Criminal District Court Judge Raymond Bigelow on a tecnicality. The judge concluded that a prosecutor violated grand jury secrecy regarding the incident.

Killed on the Danziger Bridge six days after huricaine Katrina were Ronald Madison, a 40-year-old mentally retarded man who was shot in the back as he fled, and James Brissette, 19, also killed in a barrage of gunfire. Four other people were severely wounded, including Susan Bartholomew, whose arm was partially blown off. Bartholomew's husband, daughter and nephew were also shot multiple times.

Survivors of the shooting state they were unarmed and ambushed by the officers as they were attempting to cross the bridge for help. Police testified that there had been reports of snipers firing at helicopters from the bridge. No weapons were ever recovered from those who were shot.

After Ronald Madison was killed, shot seven times in the back and shoulder, his older brother Lance was arrested and booked with attempted murder, accused of shooting at the officers. Lance Madison, a longtime employee of FedEx with no criminal record, was subsequently cleared by the same grand jury that indicted the officers.

Details

Danziger Video: Letten talks about plea deal

Danziger Bridge Massacre Testimony Released

Defense attorneys for seven New Orleans police officers accused of shooting a group of people after Hurricane Katrina will be given the complete testimony of two witnesses to the state grand jury that indicted the officers on charges of murder and attempted murder, a Criminal District Court judge ruled Thursday. Chief Judge Raymond Bigelow said in his ruling that federal law requires some of the information in the transcripts be made available to the defense. District Attorney Eddie Jordan's office already provided the defense with redacted copies of the testimony, which blacked out information the office believed the law did not compel it to disclose.

But Bigelow ruled that made the transcripts essentially unreadable. "To cut and paste would dilute the ability of the reader to understand the testimony in this very complex case," he wrote. While grand jury testimony is typically secret, Bigelow noted in his ruling that the trial court judge is given the discretion to determine whether the material should be disclosed. In every criminal case, prosecutors are required to turn over evidence to defense attorneys that is favorable to the defendant, as well as evidence that can be used to discredit a prosecution witness.

Bigelow gave Jordan's office until Thursday to turn over the copies to the defense team or decide to ask the 4th Circuit Court of Appeal to review his decision. Prosecutors at the hearing declined to respond to the ruling, and an office spokesman did not return a phone call.

The shootings on and near the Danziger Bridge on Sept. 4, 2005, left two men dead: Ronald Madison, a 40-year-old man with the mental capacity of a child, and 19-year-old James Brissette. Four people were also severely wounded in an onslaught that the survivors have described as an unprovoked hail of bullets from police officers who did not identify themselves. The police have maintained that they shot at the people on Danziger Bridge only after rushing to the bridge after hearing a radio call about officers in jeopardy and then being fired at. Two of Madison's siblings attended Thursday's hearing and expressed dismay that the grand jury testimony would be made available. "Little by little, this is really violating the justice system," said Romell Madison.

Townsend Myers, the attorney for officer Michael Hunter, said he believes the decision will help the defense. "This gives us the opportunity to use the testimony at trial," he said. In a reflection of the complex nature of the case against the seven New Orleans Police Department officers, Myers and two other defense attorneys have already reviewed all of the transcripts of every witness before the grand jury, but they weren't given copies to prepare for trial or to use as evidence. The unusual arrangement was agreed to by Jordan's office in April.

Attorneys for Hunter, Sgt. Kenneth Bowen and officer Ignatius Hills looked at the transcripts in Bigelow's chambers. The attorneys were looking for evidence to support their contention that the three officers should not have been indicted because Jordan compelled their testimony before the grand jury in exchange for immunity. Bigelow has yet to rule on a motion to dismiss the charges against the three officers because of the immunity. After looking at the testimony, the defense lawyers thought the statements of Tony Humfleet and Lance Madison contained information that all the lawyers should see because the two civilian witnesses to the shootings contradicted each other, according to Bigelow's ruling.

Defense attorneys have also said Lance Madison, whose brother was fatally shot by an officer in front of a motel at the foot of the Danziger Bridge on Chef Menteur Highway, made statements to the grand jury that contradict ones he made before a judge less than a month after the shootings. Lance Madison was arrested after the shootings and booked with firing at the police, although the state grand jury later cleared him of any wrongdoing. At a bond hearing in late September 2005, Madison testified about his experiences on the bridge.

At least one defense attorney has pointed out that Lance Madison, in that hearing, described walking over the bridge with his brother and initially being shot at by six teenagers before the police arrived on the scene and also began shooting. The Madisons had been walking over the Danziger Bridge after a failed attempt to reach their mother's house in flooded eastern New Orleans. They had been staying at Romell Madison's dental office on the Gentilly side of the bridge.

Former officer Robert Faulcon faces a first-degree murder charge for the shooting of Ronald Madison, as well as another count for the shooting of Brissette. Bowen, Sgt. Robert Gisevius, and officer Anthony Villavaso also face first-degree murder charges for shooting Brissette.

The four officers also face a number of attempted-murder charges, along with Hunter, Hills and officer Robert Barrios, for shooting at people who were either wounded or not hit.

Danziger Bridge Massacre Wrangling

In a plea bargain deal, the death penalty is no longer a possibility for the officers involved in the Danziger Bridge Massacre after hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Assistant District Attorney Dustin Davis from District Attorney Eddie Jordan's office in New Orleans said the DA will ask for the alternative sentence of life in prison without parole rather than execution if the four officers are convicted. He declined to explain the decision.

The relieved officers are Sgts. Robert Gisevius Jr. and Kenneth Bowen; and Officers Anthony Villavaso, and Robert Faulcon Jr. Two other accused officers, Robert Barrios and Mike Hunter Jr. were charged with attempted first-degree murder, and Officer Ignatius Hills was charged with attempted second-degree murder.

Killed on the Danziger Bridge were Ronald Madison, a 40-year-old mentally retarded man, and James Brissette, 19. Four other people were severely wounded. All were trying to reach safety in flood ravaged post-Katrina New Orleans. Ronald Madison's sister Lorna Humphries said family members "Completely support the district attorney's office in their decision."

The accused officers continue to work for the NOPD in low profile jobs. They may not wear uniforms, make arrests or carry weapons, and they're closely monitored, police officials said. The defendants must wear ankle bracelets that track their whereabouts. Ronald Madison's brother, Romell Madison, called for Mayor Ray Nagin to overturn Police Superintendent Warren Riley's decision to let the officers return to work, calling it "a slap in the face of justice."

Another Madison brother, Lance Madison, was arrested and framed for attempted first degree murder immediately after the Danziger Bridge Massacre. He was exonerated of any crime in December, 2006, after spending months in jail.

"My brother Lance has still not been able to return to work," said Lorna Humphries, who owns an engineering consulting firm. "It's been hard on him. First he watched his brother gunned down then he was arrested. He's been out of work 17 months now, but the police are back. Is that fair?"

Developing...........

At Last.........

Seven New Orleans police officers were indicted today on a variety of murder and attempted murder charges arising from misguided use of deadly force on the Danziger Bridge in New Orleans, six days after hurricane Katrina. The killings, locally known as the Danziger Bridge Massacre, left two innocent people dead and four more seriously wounded, as they were trying to escape the ravages of the storm.

Today, the state grand jury finally called bullshit on the New Orleans Police Department's version of what happened on Sept. 4, 2005. The killings have been portrayed by the officers involved, the NOPD, and the MSM as an appropriate response to sniper fire at rescue workers near the bridge in eastern New Orleans. The dead victims have been demonized as criminal snipers. The injured survivors fled New Orleans in the aftermath, and gained little exposure in the press as they tried to tell their story. The facts demonstrate that the only people shooting at people that day were officers of the law. Indeed, the grand jury cleared Lance Madison, a man whom police had arrested that day and booked framed with attempted first degree murder for supposedly shooting at law enforcement. Lance Madison had no firearm. No person in his group had a firearm.

Four police officers, Sgt. Kenneth Bowen, Sgt. Robert Gisevius, Officer Anthony Villavaso, and Officer Robert Faulcon, were charged with the first degree murder of James Brissette, a 19 year old man. Faulcon was also charged with the first degree murder of Ronald Madison, a 40 year old mentally retarded man who was shot seven times in the back. Three additional officers at the scene that day were also indicted on charges of attempted murder.

"We cannot allow our police officers to shoot and kill our citizens without justification, like rabid dogs," District Attorney Eddie Jordan said in a news release. "The rules governing lethal force are not suspended in an emergency. Everyone, including police, must abide by the law of the land." Damn right. Well said Mr. Jordan.

More information, including autopsy reports.

Update on the Danziger Bridge Massacre

In the confusion immediately following hurricane Katrina, the NOPD made headlines striking back at criminals looting their city. Deputy Police Chief W.J. Riley declared his officers shot at eight people carrying guns on the Danziger Bridge, killing five or six snipers.

The autopsy report of Ronald Madison, 40, a mentally disabled black man killed by the police on the Danziger Bridge on September 4, 2005 in New Orleans has been made public. It appears Mr. Madison died as the result of being shot in the back. Madison was only one of several who were shot by police on that bridge that day.

This contradicts testimony by a police sergeant who claimed the victim turned toward officers and was reaching into his waistband when shot. "Clearly he was shot from behind," said famed New York pathologist Dr. Michael Baden, who examined the body for the family's lawyer. A prosecutor said the case will go before a grand jury and acknowledged the investigation includes the possibility of police wrong doing.

A lawsuit was brought against the coroner of Orleans Parish to gain access to Madison's autopsy report. At a court hearing on that lawsuit in New Orleans, the coroner, Dr. Frank Minyard, verified the handwritten autopsy report obtained by news media as one prepared in his office by a pathologist on his staff who listed the wounds as being located in the victim's right back. Under cross-examination Dr. Minyard testified those five wounds in the back "were entrance wounds, yes."

Dr. Michael Baden, chief forensic pathologist for the New York State Police, discussed his own observations when he examined Ronald Madison's body for the family lawyer last fall. Asked if Ronald Madison could have been facing the police when shot, Dr. Baden said, "Absolutely not."

No weapon was found on or near Ronald Madison's body.

Snipers on the Danziger Bridge?

Even in the desperate days following hurricane Katrina, the news flash seemed particularly sensational. Police had encountered eight snipers on an overpass shooting at relief contractors. In the gun battle that followed, officers shot and killed five or six of the marauders. Had the people of New Orleans' 9th Ward gone mad? Were there people more intent on hindering rescue than being rescued? Or were these official stories of snipers shooting at relief workers just one more example of propaganda distributed to justify the police-state tactics and gun confiscations employed by local authorities? New evidence exposes these tales of woe to be as false as the reports of widespread police defections in the aftermath of the storm. (Those reports have since been found to be a cover-up of payroll padding in the city's employment records under Police Commisioner Edwin Compass' tenure.) Authorities say they are still trying to reconstruct what happened Sept. 4 on the Danziger Bridge in New Orleans. One thing is almost certain. Civilians were not shooting.

A story in the Los Angeles Times appears to debunk the "sniper threat" accounts, quoting several citizens who claim to have been shot by police officers. The initial story in the New Orleans Times-Picayune declared that police "had caught eight snipers on the Danziger Bridge, shooting at relief contractors." They then shot to death five or six of the purported marauders in the ensuing gunfight. Later stories revised the account, reporting only two deaths and conflicting testimony as to who they were. Although not disclosed by police, one of the dead is a mentally retarded man, 40 year old Ronald Madison, who was merely seeking food and relief after the flood according to friends and family. Lance Madison, 49, said he and his brother Ronald Madison (deceased), were crossing the Danziger Bridge to reach the safety of a dental office owned by their brother Romell. Romell Madison is a dentist and a prominent community figure who has served on several state commissions, mostly involving healthcare. He said that his brothers, after being stranded for several days on the roof of Lance's apartment building in New Orleans East, were trying to reach his office on the Chef Menteur Highway. Romell confirms that to get there they had to cross the Danziger Bridge. "We ran for our lives," Lance told Chief Orleans Parish Magistrate Judge Gerard Hansen, who presided at the preliminary hearing, where Lance Madison faced eight felony counts for the attempted murder of eight police officers.

The (L.A.) Times reporters also located Jose Holmes Jr., 19; recovering from critical wounds suffered in the shooting, claiming he was shot for no reason at all. Holmes displayed wounds to his arm, neck, chin and stomach. A colostomy bag now drains Holmes' bowels. His left forefinger and thumb are frozen. Doctors told him his hand sustained permanent nerve damage. Holmes states the final shot at him was delivered via an assault style rifle, and at point blank range, despite the fact that he was carrying no weapon himself. Other unarmed victims, Leonard Bartholomew, 44; his wife, Susan, 39; and daughter, Leisha, 17; were also shot by the police. Susan Bartholomew lost an arm to what the family believes was a point blank shotgun blast. The other unnamed dead citizen was a 19-year-old man and a friend of Jose Holmes Jr. "A lot of people were running past us with guns and robbing people in the hotel and stuff," said Jontae Holmes, 16, a niece of the Bartholomews. "Then the generators got messed up and the lights started going off. It was scary." Six days after the storm hit, Jontae said, her aunt and uncle crossed the bridge to retrieve a wallet they had left at home. Susan and Leonard Bartholomew hoped to catch a rescue boat to navigate the still-flooded streets, the teenager said. The Bartholomews' nephew, Jose Holmes Jr. came along, as did one of his friends, another 19-year-old, who planned to search for his missing mother. Several other family members remained at their motel room. Police said Jose Holmes and his friend were among a group of "at least four suspects" near the east end of the bridge who began shooting at officers. When police returned fire, they said, the shooters jumped over a concrete barrier to a pedestrian walkway along the north side of the span. The suspects continued firing from behind the barrier, the police claimed.

There were some terrible, unforgivable acts carried out in New Orleans before, during, and after hurricane Katrina. Not all of those acts were the acts of citizens. The worst looters and rapists were those who looted and raped the US Constitution. The investigation of the NOPD's performance throughout the crisis is ongoing. It was nice of them to be so quick to claim credit for these deaths. It will be difficult to shift the blame.