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Anti Federalist
04-04-2012, 05:33 PM
...at the Indy 500.

So says a federal judge about cop witnesses in the infamous Danzinger Bridge killings.



5 ex-cops sentenced in Katrina killings case

By CAIN BURDEAU, Associated Press – 14 minutes ago

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iVD4gBMbkF2zolWC3hcYIuNtOtBQ?docId=ad372477c baf4b70b109b44d53b167aa

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge sentenced five former police officers to years in prison for the deadly shootings on a New Orleans bridge in the chaotic days following Hurricane Katrina but not before lashing out at prosecutors for allowing others involved to serve lighter penalties for their crimes. The case that wrapped up Wednesday was the centerpiece of a Justice Department push to clean up New Orleans' police department that has long been tainted with corruption.

U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt expressed frustration that he was bound by mandatory minimum sentencing laws to imprison former Sgts. Kenneth Bowen and Robert Gisevius and former officers Anthony Villavaso and Robert Faulcon for decades when other officers who engaged in similar conduct on the Danziger Bridge — but cut deals with prosecutors — are serving no more than eight years behind bars.

"These through-the-looking-glass plea deals that tied the hands of this court ... are an affront to the court and a disservice to the community," he said.

Police gunned down 17-year-old James Brissette and 40-year-old Ronald Madison, who were both unarmed, and wounded four others on Sept. 4, 2005, less than a week after the storm devastated New Orleans. To cover it up, the officers planted a gun, fabricated witnesses and falsified reports. Defense attorneys have indicated they will appeal.

Engelhardt also criticized prosecutors for the different ways they charged those who didn't cooperate with a Justice Department civil rights investigation and those who did. The charges were filed in such a way that they left judges with little discretion in handing out sentences in each set of cases, Engelhardt said.

Faulcon received the stiffest sentence of 65 years. Bowen and Gisevius each got 40 years while Villavaso was sentenced to 38. All four were convicted of federal firearms charges that carried mandatory minimum sentences ranging from 35 to 60 years in prison. Faulcon was convicted in both deadly shootings.

"The court imposes them purely as a matter of statutory mandate," Engelhardt said.

Retired Sgt. Arthur "Archie" Kaufman, who was assigned to investigate the shootings, received six years in prison — a sentence below the federal guidelines. Kaufman wasn't charged in the shootings but was convicted of helping orchestrate the cover-up.

During a scathing lecture that lasted roughly two hours, Engelhardt questioned the credibility of officers who cut deals and testified against the defendants during last year's trial.

"Citing witnesses for perjury at this trial would be like handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500," Engelhardt said.

Justice Department attorney Bobbi Bernstein defended prosecutors' tactics, saying the officers who cooperated with the probe gave them the breakthrough they needed to reveal the cover-up.

"Those deals are the reason that the whole world now knows what happened on the Danziger Bridge," she said.

The sentences were significantly lower than what prosecutors had recommended. They had asked the judge to sentence the four shooters to prison terms ranging from nearly 60 years for Villavaso to 87 years for Faulcon.

Engelhardt questioned why prosecutors sought a 20-year prison sentence for Kaufman when Michael Lohman, who was the highest-ranking officer at the scene of the shooting and assigned Kaufman to investigate, got just four years after pleading guilty to participating in the cover-up. Engelhardt said Lohman had the authority to quash the cover-up and didn't.

"The buck started and stopped with him," the judge said.

He also questioned why prosecutors allowed a former detective, Jeffrey Lehrmann, to receive a sentence of three years in prison when his role in the conspiracy was similar to Kaufman's.

"These sentences are, in the court's opinion, blind," Engelhardt said.

Steve London, one of Kaufman's attorneys, said his client was pleased that the judge gave him a sentence below the guidelines, which had called for a sentence ranging from a little over eight years to a little over 10.

"This judge recognized that the government put liars on the stand to testify and convict other people," London said.

Lindsay Larson, one of Faulcon's attorneys, said the judge "laid out the blueprint" for how defense attorneys will challenge the firearms convictions and sentences.

"We have only just begun to fight," he said.

Tom Perez, head of the Justice Department's civil rights division, said federal investigators transformed a cold case into the "most significant police case since Rodney King."

"We didn't have a case in 2008 when we inherited this. We had nothing. And hindsight is 20/20. It is easy to look back in hindsight and say why did you do this, why did you do that," he said. "You don't go to the witness store to pick out your witnesses. You take what is dealt."

Engelhardt heard hours of arguments and testimony earlier Wednesday from prosecutors, defense attorneys, relatives of shooting victims and the officers.

"This has been a long and painful six-and-a-half years," said Lance Madison, whose mentally disabled brother, Ronald, was killed. "The people of New Orleans and my family are ready for justice."

He addressed each defendant individually, including Faulcon, who shot his brother: "When I look at you, my pain becomes unbearable. You took the life of an angel and basically ripped my heart out."

Madison also said he was horrified by Kaufman's actions and role in the cover-up: "You tried to frame me, a man you knew was innocent, and send me to prison for the rest of my life." Lance Madison was arrested on attempted murder charges after police falsely accused him of shooting at the officers on the bridge. He was jailed for three weeks before a judge freed him.

The Rev. Robert Faulcon Sr. told the judge his son "didn't go looking for trouble."

"He was on duty and he was called to do a job, and that's what he did to the best of his ability," the elder Faulcon said.

Twenty current or former New Orleans police officers have been charged in a series of Justice Department probes, most of which center on actions during the aftermath of Katrina. Eleven of those officers were charged in the Danziger Bridge case, which stunned a city with a long history of police corruption.

Katrina struck on Aug. 29, 2005, leading to the collapse of levees and flooding an estimated 80 percent of the city. New Orleans was plunged into chaos as residents who hadn't evacuated were driven from their homes to whatever high places they could find.

Officers who worked in the city at the time but were not charged in the bridge case on Wednesday told Engelhardt of the lawlessness that followed the flood, and that they feared for their lives.

On the morning of Sept. 4, one group of residents was crossing the Danziger Bridge in the city's Gentilly area to what they perceived as safety when police arrived.

The officers had received calls that shots were being fired. Gunfire reports were common after Katrina.

Faulcon was convicted of fatally shooting Madison, but the jury decided the killing didn't amount to murder. He, Gisevius, Bowen and Villavaso were convicted in Brissette's killing, but jurors didn't hold any of them individually responsible for causing his death.

All five were convicted of participating in a cover-up.

Wednesday's sentencing isn't the final chapter in the case. The convicted officers are expected to appeal, and Gerard Dugue, a retired sergeant, is scheduled to be retried in May on charges stemming from his alleged role in the cover-up.

donnay
04-04-2012, 06:01 PM
5 former New Orleans cops get stiff sentences in Katrina bridge shootings, cover-up

By NBC News and news services (http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/04/11020957-5-former-new-orleans-cops-get-stiff-sentences-in-katrina-bridge-shootings-cover-up?lite), msnbc.com

Five former New Orleans police officers were sentenced to long prison terms Wednesday for their roles in the shootings at a bridge that left two civilians dead and four others wounded in the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

A federal judge sentenced four of the officers convicted of participating in the shootings to terms ranging from 38 years to 65 years, according to local media reports. The fifth officer received six years for covering up the killings.

U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt called it “a sad day for New Orleans” and also criticized the plea bargains that other officers got in exchange for cooperating with the government, NOLA.com reported.

"Using liars to convict liars is no way to pursue justice," Engelhardt said, according to NOLA.com.

The Justice Department hailed the lengthy sentences in a case that shed a national spotlight on New Orleans police corruption as testament that “no one is above the law."

“We hope that today’s sentences give a measure of peace and closure to the victims of this terrible shooting, who have suffered unspeakable pain and who have waited so patiently for justice to be done,” Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s civil rights division, said in a statement. “The officers who shot innocent people on the bridge and then went to great lengths to cover up their own crimes have finally been held accountable for their actions. As a result of today’s sentencing, the city of New Orleans can take another step forward.”

Kenneth Bowen, 38; Robert Gisevius, 39; Anthony Villavaso, 35; and Robert Faulcon, 48, were convicted in August of civil-rights violations and firearms and other charges in the shootings, according to The Associated Press. Retired Sgt. Arthur "Archie" Kaufman, who was assigned to investigate the shootings, was convicted of helping orchestrate the cover-up.

Faulcon received the stiffest sentence, 65 years. Bowen and Gisevius each got 40 years, and Villavaso got 38 years. Kaufman got the lightest sentence, six years.

Bowen, Gisevius, Villavaso and Faulcon were among about a dozen officers who responded to a radio call that someone was shooting at police near the Danziger Bridge in east New Orleans on Sept. 4, 2005. That was less than a week after Katrina made landfall, swamping a good part of the city and leading to televised scenes of looting and lawlessness in some neighborhoods.

Witnesses testified that the officers jumped out of a truck and fired with AK-47s and shotguns at unarmed civilians walking on the bridge.

The officers later claimed they shot only after being threatened or fired on and that they had seen weapons in the victims' hands.

Prosecutors said the people on the bridge were families seeking food.

Read local coverage on WDSU.com

A New Orleans couple, their daughter and their nephew were among those wounded, and a family friend, James Brissette, 17, was killed. He was shot in the back, the leg, both arms and the back of the head, and died on the bridge, according to the Justice Department.

At a second shooting a few minutes later on the west side of the bridge, Ronald Madison, a 40-year-old man with severe mental and physical disabilities, was shot in the back while running away. He died near the base of the bridge.

Kaufman, the lead investigator in the case, retired from the force in May 2011. He planted a gun at the scene and helped falsify official reports of the shootings, according to media reports.

The sentencing came after a morning of testimony from victims of the shootings as well as family members and friends of the former police officers.

Lance Madison told the court his brother Ronald was "gunned down and killed without mercy" by police that day, NOLA.com reported.

Madison told the five former officers: "You are the reason I can no longer trust law enforcement," according to NOLA.com.

Five other former NOPD officers who pleaded guilty before trial, admitting that they had participated in a conspiracy to obstruct justice and cover-up, were all sentenced previously. They got prison terms ranging from three years to eight years.

Information from NOLA.com., WDSU.com and The Associated Press is included in this report.

John F Kennedy III
04-04-2012, 06:02 PM
bump

Anti Federalist
04-04-2012, 06:15 PM
bump

phill4paul
04-04-2012, 06:21 PM
“We hope that today’s sentences give a measure of peace and closure to the victims of this terrible shooting, who have suffered unspeakable pain and who have waited so patiently for justice to be done,” Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s civil rights division, said in a statement. “The officers who shot innocent people on the bridge and then went to great lengths to cover up their own crimes have finally been held accountable for their actions. As a result of today’s sentencing, the city of New Orleans can take another step forward.”


Peace and closure? What ever happened to life without parole? Oh that's right. That is only given to mundanes that gun down law dogs.

This shit has got to end. Not only did they cover for each others asses the court system did too.

phill4paul
04-04-2012, 06:23 PM
“We hope that today’s sentences give a measure of peace and closure to the victims of this terrible shooting, who have suffered unspeakable pain and who have waited so patiently for justice to be done,” Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s civil rights division, said in a statement. “The officers who shot innocent people on the bridge and then went to great lengths to cover up their own crimes have finally been held accountable for their actions. As a result of today’s sentencing, the city of New Orleans can take another step forward.”


Peace and closure? What ever happened to life without parole? Oh that's right. That is only given to mundanes that gun down law dogs.

This shit has got to end. Not only did they cover for each others asses the court system did too. As they always do.

donnay
04-04-2012, 06:24 PM
I am still amazed this took 6 years to try. :rolleyes:

phill4paul
04-04-2012, 06:41 PM
All animals are equal. Some animals are more equal than others.

phill4paul
04-04-2012, 07:27 PM
On appeal I say that they get even less.

Indy Vidual
04-04-2012, 08:20 PM
...
Prosecutors said the people on the bridge were families seeking food....

:eek:

BlackTerrel
04-04-2012, 08:41 PM
Good. Justice.

phill4paul
04-04-2012, 08:43 PM
Good. Justice.

You call this 'justice?' I call it travesty. Any citizen would have gotten life in prison for what was done there.

donnay
04-04-2012, 08:45 PM
You call this 'justice?' I call it travesty. Any citizen would have gotten life in prison for what was done there.


Or the death penalty.

eduardo89
04-04-2012, 09:01 PM
Or the death penalty.

As horrible as it sounds, a few cops need to be given the death penalty in high profile cases to set an example. No one is above the law. Kill an innocent person and you forfeit your life.

donnay
04-04-2012, 09:09 PM
As horrible as it sounds, a few cops need to be given the death penalty in high profile cases to set an example. No one is above the law. Kill an innocent person and you forfeit your life.

I am pro-life all the way. Personally, I would rather seem them doing a life of REALLY hard labor--make their lives miserable, a hell on earth.

Then again, from what I understand cops don't fare well in prison.

eduardo89
04-04-2012, 09:16 PM
I am pro-life all the way. Personally, I would rather seem them doing a life of REALLY hard labor--make their lives miserable, a hell on earth.

Then again, from what I understand cops don't fare well in prison.

I'm pro-life as well, and that's why I actually support the death penalty (sounds contradictory, but it's not really). But that's a discussion for a different thread.

I don't know about the hard labor part...as much as you'd like to create hell on earth for them, anything on earth will be heaven compared to the torments of eternity with Satan.

donnay
04-04-2012, 09:36 PM
I'm pro-life as well, and that's why I actually support the death penalty (sounds contradictory, but it's not really). But that's a discussion for a different thread.

I don't know about the hard labor part...as much as you'd like to create hell on earth for them, anything on earth will be heaven compared to the torments of eternity with Satan.

Which might have them get on their knees and ask for forgiveness before they take their last breath.

Freedom 4 all
04-04-2012, 10:17 PM
Or the death penalty.

Not as satisfying as a death penalty verdict would have been, but I'm fairly confident that all will be brutally murdered by inmates within the year.

mrsat_98
04-05-2012, 04:38 AM
Not as satisfying as a death penalty verdict would have been, but I'm fairly confident that all will be brutally murdered by inmates within the year.

Every few days I read about numerous police officers etc getting killed in afganistan for what appears to be going along with the invaders. We have seen a few similar incidents here. I will not be the least bit surprised when it happens here on a more frequent basis. The future does not look bright.

Anti Federalist
04-05-2012, 11:27 AM
I am still amazed this took 6 years to try. :rolleyes:

Part of the reason for that is that for roughly three years the cover up worked.

BlackTerrel
04-05-2012, 08:49 PM
As horrible as it sounds, a few cops need to be given the death penalty in high profile cases to set an example. No one is above the law. Kill an innocent person and you forfeit your life.

The death penalty doesn't deter crime.

You really think anyone is going "40 years no big deal... but death penalty whoa I'll change my behavior".

I think most people would look at a 40 year prison stay as equivalent to a death sentence.

Anti Federalist
04-05-2012, 08:55 PM
The death penalty doesn't deter crime.

You really think anyone is going "40 years no big deal... but death penalty whoa I'll change my behavior".

I think most people would look at a 40 year prison stay as equivalent to a death sentence.

I cannot, in good conscience, support the death penalty, even for the worst sort of murders, which these were.

Murder under color of law.

The state has a long track record of getting it wrong.

Pericles
04-05-2012, 09:01 PM
I cannot, in good conscience, support the death penalty, even for the worst sort of murders, which these were.

Murder under color of law.

The state has a long track record of getting it wrong.

I'm OK with the death penalty, but my standard is there can be no doubt and quilt is unquestioned (multiple witnesses and have it on film, etc.) If there is any possibility that the defendant is not guilty, life should be the max penalty.

Anti Federalist
04-05-2012, 09:20 PM
I'm OK with the death penalty, but my standard is there can be no doubt and quilt is unquestioned (multiple witnesses and have it on film, etc.) If there is any possibility that the defendant is not guilty, life should be the max penalty.

I've seen enough cases where the cops sweated (tortured) a confession out of somebody, and then had witnesses lined up to back it up, when, years later, it was proved that there was no way the person could have done it.

I just posted a story like that, yesterday I think, about some poor bastard that's been serving a life sentence for a double murder that occurred while he was already in jail for another alleged crime.

I don't trust the system with the lives of foreigners who fall under the drone's eye, nor do I trust it to administer "ultimate justice", even when, as in this case, justice would be served by having these men swing.

eduardo89
04-05-2012, 09:23 PM
I've seen enough cases where the cops sweated (tortured) a confession out of somebody, and then had witnesses lined up to back it up, when, years later, it was proved that there was no way the person could have done it.

I just posted a story like that, yesterday I think, about some poor bastard that's been serving a life sentence for a double murder that occurred while he was already in jail for another alleged crime.

I don't trust the system with the lives of foreigners who fall under the drone's eye, nor do I trust it to administer "ultimate justice", even when, as in this case, justice would be served by having these men swing.

Completely agree with you. That's why, although in theory I am in favor of the death penalty, I do not like seeing it used knowing well how flawed and corrupt the system is.

I do, however, think it should be an option. There are certain cases where nothing short of the death penalty is an appropriate punishment. Imagine someone kidnaps, brutally tortures and rapes a child, then kills them...that's perhaps the most heinous of crimes. I do not believe life in prison is appropriate, especially knowing there are sick, twisted individuals who will relish in the thoughts of their crimes until the day they die. Certain cases do warrant the death penalty.

Pericles
04-05-2012, 09:25 PM
I've seen enough cases where the cops sweated (tortured) a confession out of somebody, and then had witnesses lined up to back it up, when, years later, it was proved that there was no way the person could have done it.

I just posted a story like that, yesterday I think, about some poor bastard that's been serving a life sentence for a double murder that occurred while he was already in jail for another alleged crime.

I don't trust the system with the lives of foreigners who fall under the drone's eye, nor do I trust it to administer "ultimate justice", even when, as in this case, justice would be served by having these men swing.

Fair enough, but in the case of the Ft. Hood shooter for example, it is what I would think of as a "clean" case.

Anti Federalist
04-05-2012, 09:29 PM
Fair enough, but in the case of the Ft. Hood shooter for example, it is what I would think of as a "clean" case.

I hear ya brother, I really do.

I have to bite my tongue on cases like that as well.

Anti Federalist
04-05-2012, 09:31 PM
Certain cases do warrant the death penalty.

I agree with you and Pericles on that idea, that yes it is warranted.

There is just no way, based on what we have now, that it can be administered in way shape or form that would truly uphold justice, IMO.

eduardo89
04-05-2012, 09:33 PM
I think most people would look at a 40 year prison stay as equivalent to a death sentence.
Like Charles Manson?

eduardo89
04-05-2012, 09:35 PM
I agree with you and Pericles on that idea, that yes it is warranted.

There is just no way, based on what we have now, that it can be administered in way shape or form that would truly uphold justice, IMO.

And I'm in 100% agreeing with you. There are very, very, very few cases where it's clear who the perpetrator was and most cases rely on circumstantial evidence that can be manipulated as well as poor council on the part of the dependent. That's why I do agree that there are very few cases where one can confidently rest assured knowing that an innocent man was not executed.

Pericles
04-05-2012, 09:39 PM
Agreed

fisharmor
04-05-2012, 09:47 PM
5 ex-cops sentenced in Katrina killings case5 down, 800,000 to go.


I agree with you and Pericles on that idea, that yes it is warranted.

There is just no way, based on what we have now, that it can be administered in way shape or form that would truly uphold justice, IMO.

How is it warranted?
How do the victims come back to life by killing the murderers?
How does killing the murderers help the victims' families cope with the financial strain of having to bury their dead in full expensive accordance with the whims of the murderer's employers?
How does robbing the victims' families at gunpoint for the money needed to administer the death penalty make their lives any easier?

I'll say it every time: not only the death penalty, but also prison, serve no purpose other than to punish the offender for a crime against the state.
There are no crimes against victims: only crimes against the state.
Once you realize this, it becomes painfully clear why the state's agents are never, ever punished in this manner: why would the state punish the state for offending the state?
The only reason these cops are getting ANY punishment is because their actions were even more over the top than normal. Not punishing them risks the people discovering the man behind the curtain.

The death penalty and prison are punishments dreamed up by the state, not the people.
They only serve the state, and never the people.
When we want to figure out a constructive way to deal with murderers, one that takes into consideration that there's a... what's the word... victim, and that it's not just a matter of how bad to fuck someone who broke the state's edicts, then we might get some sense of justice and closure.

eduardo89
04-05-2012, 09:49 PM
So what do you propose fisharmor?

fisharmor
04-05-2012, 09:53 PM
So what do you propose fisharmor?

Is every single asset that the cops ever had their fingers on being transferred to the families of the victims?
Why not?

Are those cops being forced to work during their time in bondage at a constructive purpose, the profit of which is to go to the families of the victims?
Why not?

How are these men "paying their debt to society"? What debt? What society? What payment?
Why are they not paying actual money toward the actual debt they are in to actual victims?

fisharmor
04-05-2012, 09:56 PM
And let's just say I've covered this ground here before.... no, I never have, I am not now, and I never will insinuate that it is even possible to pay the debt they owe to the victims with money.

What I am saying is that charging the victims further money is a motherfucking slap in the face.
What I am saying is that if it's possible to get the victims some compensation, it should be done.
It doesn't make up for anything.
But it's something. Something besides a "fuck you, you're broke now and nobody gives a shit".

eduardo89
04-05-2012, 09:58 PM
All very good points +rep

BlackTerrel
04-05-2012, 10:43 PM
I cannot, in good conscience, support the death penalty, even for the worst sort of murders, which these were.

Murder under color of law.

The state has a long track record of getting it wrong.

I'm actually not opposed to the death penalty depending on the case - murder, rape etc... I am fine with the death penalty if we can be sure they are guilty. I also don't like the idea of my tax dollars paying for these animals food, shelter and health care for the next 40 years.

My argument in this case was more about the deterrence factor. 40 years in jail is the equivalent of the death penalty in this case - no one who is OK taking another life is going to care whether the punishment is 40 years in prison or the death penalty.

eduardo89
04-05-2012, 10:47 PM
That's true, but sometimes even if someone is behind bars they are still a danger. There are many cases of convicted killed orchestrating killings from behind bars (gang leaders, cartel bosses, mafia, Charles Manson types)

Speaking if Charles Manson, he's up for parole this month, for the 12th time. He was sentenced to death, but because SCOTUS ruled the death penalty unconstitutional in 1972 his sentence was changed to life in prison. Somehow he gets the chance at parole. He's someone who should have been executed almost instantly.

Charles Manson, now 77, gets new chance at parole (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/05/BAJP1NVEJR.DTL)

BamaAla
04-05-2012, 10:50 PM
The death penalty doesn't deter crime.

You really think anyone is going "40 years no big deal... but death penalty whoa I'll change my behavior".

I think most people would look at a 40 year prison stay as equivalent to a death sentence.

This calls to mind the story about the murder at the guillotine.

There was a public execution for a murderer. A man standing near the apparatus says to the judge "you know that won't stop crime, right?" The judge grins at the man and says "for him it will."

BlackTerrel
04-05-2012, 10:53 PM
That's true, but sometimes even if someone is behind bars they are still a danger. There are many cases of convicted killed orchestrating killings from behind bars (gang leaders, cartel bosses, mafia, Charles Manson types)

Speaking if Charles Manson, he's up for parole this month, for the 12th time. He was sentenced to death, but because SCOTUS ruled the death penalty unconstitutional in 1972 his sentence was changed to life in prison. Somehow he gets the chance at parole. He's someone who should have been executed almost instantly.

Charles Manson, now 77, gets new chance at parole (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/05/BAJP1NVEJR.DTL)

I agree 100%

I actually get very pissed off that my tax dollars pay to keep this animal alive - food, shelter, health care etc..