Legal News for Louisiana Criminal Attorneys. A former NOPD officer gave the first detailed account of the Danziger Bridge shootings.
News for Louisiana criminal attorneys- Former New Orleans Police Department officer provides first account of post Hurricane Katrina Daziger Bridge shootings.
New Orleans, LA—A former New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) officer became the third police deputy to plead guilty in connection with the fatal shooting that occurred on the Danziger Bridge in New Orleans, just days after Hurricane Katrina devastated the area. Michael Hunter pleaded guilty to the federal charges and gave the first lucid account of the Danziger Bridge shootings on Wednesday, April 7, 2010, as reported by WWLTV.com.
According to the factual basis, the court document in which Hunter’s detailed account of the shootings was recorded, Hunter drove several NOPD authorities to the Danziger Bridge upon receiving a call that officers had been shot at on the bridge September 4, 2005. When the NOPD deputies arrived at the scene, they reportedly fired shots out of the truck’s window as a means of warning civilians that they were armed. When the vehicle came to a stop, Sergeant A, who was identified as Sergeant Kenneth Bowen, along with Hunter, stepped out of the vehicle and “fired an assault rifle down toward the civilians on the walkway”. Sergeant B, later identified as Sergeant Robert Gisevius, also joined the other authorities to shoot at the same group of civilians.
Upon noticing that the civilians were “unarmed, injured and subdued”, Hunter subsequently yelled, “Cease fire”. However, the officers at the scene did quite the opposite. Bowen “suddenly leaned over the concrete barrier, held out his assault rifle and, in a sweeping motion, fired repeatedly at the civilians lying wounded on the ground.” Sergeant Gisevius allegedly told Hunter he had been fired at, though Hunter maintained the civilians appeared to be unarmed. Officer A, informally identified as Robert Faulcon, then suddenly “fired a shot gun at Ronald Madison’s back as Madison ran away”. Bowen then ran up to Ronald Madison, a 40-year-old disabled man who was already wounded, and began to violently beat the injured civilian.
All officers who were involved in the Katrina shootings, which resulted in two fatalities and left four others injured, allegedly reported to the makeshift 7th District Police Station later on that day to meet with regard to the incident. That meeting was allegedly the first of many meetings in which the officers schemed to cover up the horrifying episode. According to Hunter’s account, a police lieutenant in attendance at the meeting reportedly stated, “We don’t want this to look like a massacre.” News coverage by the New York Times noted Hunter is expected to be sentenced on June 30, 2010.
Legal News Reporter: Sandra Quinlan- Legal News for Louisiana Criminal Lawyers.