Officer Pleads Guilty in Katrina Conspiracy

[KyJim]

A former high-ranking member of the New Orleans Police Department entered a guilty plea Wednesday after federal prosecutors charged he worked to deliberately interfere with the Danziger Bridge investigation and to cover-up possible misconduct by officers.

Details of the case are laid out in documents that allege a conspiracy among several officers to drastically change the facts surrounding the incident.

The information is contained in what is called a bill of information -- something that serves much like an indictment and is produced by prosecutors building a criminal case.

Full story at http://www.officer.com/online/articl...ion=1&id=50869

Make sure you read the linked Bill of Information.

Essentially a group of New Orleans cops are alleged to have shot and wounded several members of a family crossing a bridge looking for food during Hurricane Katrina. Two family members were killed. They then shoot at a couple of other people on the other side of the bridge. The internal affairs investigators then allegedly conspire with the officers in planting a gun and covering up.

Most of us have probably seen the video of the police manhandling an elderly woman inside her home and confiscating her guns. And most of us are probably aware of the blatantly unlawful confiscation of many other firearms during Katrina from law abiding citizens.

The guilty plea (and what is sure to follow) is proof of the utter corruption and amoral attitude which are apparently widespread throughout the New Orleans P.D. It also again underscores the need for each of us to be responsible for our own safety. You cannot count on police protecting you. In rare circumstances, such as that above, the police may actually be the reason you need to protect yourself.

I generally have high respect for police officers and cannot imagine the difficulties they face. That is why the conduct of these officers here so infuriates me.

[hogdogs]

IBTL!!!
Seems more suited to the ihatethepolice.com forum...
But the mods will let us know...
Any corruption by officials ticks me off too but I thought this thread would be about the illegal theft of arms from civilians.
Brent

[KyJim]

Seems more suited to the ihatethepolice.com forum...

I think it is intertwined with the whole gun confiscation policy during Katrina. And no, I don't hate police. I work with them.

[hogdogs]

KJ, I wasn't trying to imply you do...
Sorry it came across that way. The shooting case mentioned that the officer plead guilty to doesn't really hit me as really connected yet.
Brent

[Kreyzhorse]

Good post KyJim. It's an interesting read especially since it occurred in the aftermath of Katrina.

[NavyLT]

I really don't understand how this is NOT law and civil rights related...

The New Orleans cops illegally confiscated guns from citizens,

then the New Orleans cops shot unarmed innocent citizens, killing them with guns...

then the New Orleans cops likely used one of those illegally confiscated guns to cover up their actions....

How is that not totally 100% law and civil rights related?

[hogdogs]

Navy, I may be wrong on the time line but I think those shot were shot before the confiscations took place...
Brent

[nate45]

I don't think an honest person has to hate the police, or even mildly dislike them; to believe that some NOPD officers may have acted in an illicit manner.

Do a search on incidences of corruption within the New Orleans police department, the evidence that corruption and malfeasance are rampant is overwhelming.

[hogdogs]

Nate, that corruption was unchecked and rampant since at least the late 70's if not before.

Back then they routinely assisted drug smugglers with transport and security duty with shipments as well as doing hired hits on competition of their "bosses"...
Brent

[NavyLT]

Navy, I may be wrong on the time line but I think those shot were shot before the confiscations took place...
Brent

Brent,

I am sorry if I implied that the gun came from an illegal confiscation in response to Katrina!

[hogdogs]

Again, I ain't sure either way but the only way i see a connection would be if those shot had been part of the masses to have their guns illegally stolen in their grab. And then only a minute connection as shooting at cops is usually frowned upon by most.

Brent

[NavyLT]

All I am trying to say is that the gun that was planted by the cops in the cover up was probably obtained by the NOPD illegally to begin with.

[hogdogs]

gotcha... Quite likely was considering NOLA in general! Barely a more civilized place than Haiti was prior to the quakes...
Brent

[Al Norris]

Brent, please forgive me for saying this, but....

How you can see that the confiscation of firearms was a civil rights violation and the murder of innocent people by uniformed officers was not a civil rights violation, is beyond me.

It is in fact, the ultimate civil rights violation.

[MTT TL]

Indeed depriving a man of his life has been recognized by the courts as the ultimate violation.

But as others have indicated this particular case likely had a lot to do with this particular department. The feds had long recognized the NOLA PD as the most corrupt big city police force in the country, with possibly as much as 20% of the department involved in some type of corruption. Add to that a vacuum of leadership at the political level, very bad leadership at the police chief level and put the department under a little bit of stress and this is the result.

You reap what you sow. If you elect/ appoint leaders who will gladly violate your civil rights in the best of times, no reason to think they won't get worse in the worst of times.

I think a different department, a different city, a different state, a different (likely better) result. (except Chicago, another badly corrupt force in an anti-gun area)

[HarrySchell]

I am disgusted to admit the "officers" tackling that woman, IIRC, were CA Highway Patrol troops. I live in CA, and it does fit the culture of the place.

Katrina was a good example of incompetence and bad policy outcomes. People who sat, waiting for someone to carry them "home", are a product of government and political policies, but I think that subject probably has been dealt with elsewhere and better than I can express it.

And so, in that evironment, why would NO PD do anything that might incriminate themselves? Especially when their mayor does a CYA by "losing" the records of which weapoons were confiscated from whom, so he didn't have return them? Nagin certainly sells the case of incompetence well.

Bad ideas travel fast in the political class. Maybe there is enough law out there to prevent another Katrina Confiscation, but we will have to see.

I think it will devolve to a citizen looking a LEO in eye and saying "no, you may not do this". What happens after could be a wonderful affirmation of the rule of law, our Constitution and humanity. Or it could be disaster for a lot of people.

I don't want to go there, but the answer is "no". Not as long as I have a heartbeat.

[NWPilgrim]

My understanding of the NOPD gun confiscations after Katrina were just an extension of an existing practice of confiscating guns from vehicles during traffic stops or other police-civilian encounters. So, they didn't just wake up the morning after Katrina and say, "Let's do something new and round up civilian guns!"

From what I've read the NOPD long held civilian rights in contempt, and post-Katrina was just business as usual.

What this may indicate for other parts of the country is that if your local PD treats you with respect today they probably will after a disaster. If they treat you with contempt and violate your civil rights today then after a disaster they will likely continue to treat you the same way. I don't think a real professional PD would suddenly become overbearing thugs just because of a disaster. Professionals are more likely to become even more "serving and protecting" in dire situations.

Disasters just make a more visible playing field for the character of a man. Hero, or rogue. I think most areas have good, professional PDs. NO is notorius for organized crime and political and PD corruption. After all, New Orleans, Little Rock and Memphis are spitting distance from each other and were the rural playgrounds for the Chicago mobsters. i guess the Mississippi makes for a handy highway for crime as well as commerce.

[KyJim]

What this may indicate for other parts of the country is that if your local PD treats you with respect today they probably will after a disaster. If they treat you with contempt and violate your civil rights today then after a disaster they will likely continue to treat you the same way. I don't think a real professional PD would suddenly become overbearing thugs just because of a disaster. Professionals are more likely to become even more "serving and protecting" in dire situations.

Very well said.