New trial ordered for New Orleans officers
Watch this shocking development. A federal judge has called the actions of prosecutors “bizarre” and has granted a request for new trials for five former New Orleans police officers convicted of civil rights violations stemming from deadly shootings on a bridge in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt ruled that the “highly unusual, extensive and truly bizarre actions” of prosecutors make a case for throwing out the officers’ convictions. Particularly disturbing to the judge were leaks made to certain media outlets and online remarks posted by members of the U.S. Attorney’s Office during the course of proceedings. The scandal led to several resignations last year – including that of U.S. Attorney Jim Letten – and a formal Department of Justice investigation into the matter.
Attorneys for the five former officers convicted in the so-called “Danziger Bridge Killings” argued at the trial in 2011, that the leaks to news organizations were part of a “secret public relations campaign” that deprived their clients of a fair trial.
In his ruling Judge Englehardt agrees. He wrote:
“The publication by DOJ employees of inflammatory invectives, accusatory screeds, and vitriolic condemnations, both directly and by the express encouragement of others to do the same, should confound and alarm any reasonable observer of the criminal justice process.
“The public must have absolute trust and confidence in this process. Re-trying this case is a very small price to pay in order to protect the validity of the verdict in this case, the institutional integrity of this Court, and the criminal justice system as a home. In an abundance of caution, the motion must be granted.”
Englehardt said the government’s lack of candor and credibility in its handling of the case is like a “scar tissue that will long evidence infidelity to the principles of ethics, professionalism, and basic fairness” relative to criminal prosecutions.
The retrial order applies to five of the officers who were charged in connection with the post-Katrina incident where the police were accused of shooting and killing two unarmed people and wounding four others on Sept. 4, 2005, at the Danziger Bridge days after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans. The officers were also accused of engaging in a cover-up to make the shootings appear justified.
Following their convictions, Judge Englehardt had sentenced Robert Faulcon to 65 years in prison, Kenneth Bowen and Robert Gisevius to 40 years, Anthony Villavaso to 38 years and Arthur Kaufman to six years.
Police Association of New Orleans (PANO) attorney Eric Hessler, who represented Gisevius at trial, said he welcomed the ruling.
“We’re pleased with the decision of the court,” he said. “Maybe this time, with a fair prosecution, the outcome will be very different.”