Danziger Bridge• A case of good cops gone bad? • Bad cops being bad?• Or an inescapable situation where outside adversity

would take down the best of men?

This Presentation

• A brief overview of Hurricane Katrina• An overview of the Danziger Bridge incident• The sinking of these police to a state of nature• Philosophers’ takes on sinking to a state of nature• Authors and their take on police work of this nature• The media’s take on the incident• Fellow policemen and their take on the incident• A conclusion on what really happened and what

kind of police officers let this happen

Hurricane Katrina

• Aug 27- Cat 3, State of emergency, voluntary evacuation of about 1 million people

• Aug 28- Cat 5, mandatory evacuation and Superdome called place of last resort

• Aug 29- Landfall, major levees breach and 9ft water in 9th ward 10ft in St. Bernard Parish.

• Aug 31- it is estimated 85% of the city was under water

• Sep 1- 2000 people still lay in refuge at the Convention Center w/ little food/water

• Sept 4- Danziger bridge shooting takes place

To date over 1800 have died due to Hurricane Katrina and over 700 remain missing. An alarming 600,000 pets died during Hurricane Katrina mostly due to abandonmentDamage: $81 billion total; $40.6 billion in insured losses

Danziger BridgeWhat happened?

• Two groups of people were crossing the bridge seeking shelter on the east and west ends of the Danziger bridge when officers opened fire

• Two men were killed and four injured• Police falsified reports to cover up the incident claiming the

civilians to be firing weapons and dangerousVictims: • Ronald Madison and Lance Madison• Bartholomew family, father, wife, son,

daughter, nephew and friend.• James BrissetteThis data is based on data from Official Reports:http://www.propublica.org/documents/item/u-s-v-jeffrey-lehrmann-factual-basishttp://policingkatrina.wikispaces.com/file/view/danziger-indictment.pdf

The perpetrators in question:

• Bowen- Bowen is charged with stomping and kicking Madison while he was lying on the ground, wounded but still alive.

• Faulcon- The indictment claims Faulcon shot mentally disabled Ronald Madison, 40, in the back as he ran away on the west side of the bridge.

• Kaufman- Kaufman allegedly took a gun from his home and claimed to have found it at the crime scene a day after the shootings, then lied about that gun under oath and in reports, prosecutors said.

• Gisevius- accused of shooting at an unarmed family on the east side of the bridge, killing 17-year-old James Brissette and wounding four others.

• Villavaso- accused of shooting at an unarmed family on the east side of the bridge, killing 17-year-old James Brissette and wounding four others.

• Dugue- Dugue is accused of lying to a federal agent when he said he had no concerns about the truth of the officers' statements while he knew that what the said was false.

• Hunter- played a major role in lying about the shootings covering them up by providing contradictory police reports.

This data is based on data from Official Reports:http://www.propublica.org/documents/item/u-s-v-jeffrey-lehrmann-factual-basishttp://policingkatrina.wikispaces.com/file/view/danziger-indictment.pdf

Major lies and flaws in case

• There were never two officers down, the cause of the original call.

• The main witness proclaiming he saw a weapon was David Ryder, a man posing as a police officer.

• Records show Ronald Madison was shot 7 times and in the back, discounting police testimony.

• Lehrmann and Lohman falsified reports and admitted to using fake witnesses.

This data is based on data from Official Reports:http://www.propublica.org/documents/item/u-s-v-jeffrey-lehrmann-factual-basishttp://policingkatrina.wikispaces.com/file/view/danziger-indictment.pdf

Danziger BridgeAnd the

The State of Nature

What would John Locke say?

• "men may be partial or vengeful in exercising their natural executive rights, possibly leading to feuds, conflicts, and war. This kind of social problem plagues all forms of the state of nature and the insecurity is causes is the primary reason for seeking the protection of a...government" (107).

The conditions change depending on the behavior of those living in it. If people follow the laws of nature it will be "one of peace, goodwill, and the like" (108). If people refuse to uphold the natural laws, it will be "a state of enmity, malice..." (108). Usually the conditions fall somewhere between these two extremes.

What would Rousseau say?

• The state of nature is:– a primitive condition without law (government) or

morality. Individuals compete because they act for their own self interest instead of the General Will.

What would Thomas Hobbes say?

• The state of nature is: a condition that exists prior to government where people are constantly in a state of war of all against all. Everyone is willing to fight to protect and pursue their own self interests which creates an environment of fear and antagonism.

"a mutually unprofitable state of war of every person against every other person...persons values self-preservation above all else..." (60)

Henry• Every human encounter with death is a reminder of one’s own mortality

• Police officers’ death encounters are different than “ordinary” death encounters because of the threat to the officer’s life as well.

• Police encounters with death occur along a continuum

• Defining variables of the police personality: Danger and the potential for a violent line-of-duty death.

• Formal and informal training given to officers increases in-group solidarity and homogeneity

• The police occupational culture shapes the officers’ experiences of death encounters.

Worden• “Perhaps the greatest single barrier to the effective investigation and

adjudication of complaints is the officers’ unwritten ‘code of silence,’ [which] consists of one simple rule: an officer does not provide adverse information against a fellow officer.”

• Officers not only respond to situations, but also help to create them.

• Black & Reiss study (1967): “In general, persons officers regarded as being in a deviant offender role or who defied what the officer defines as his authority were the most likely victims of undue force.”

• Police culture “emphasizes the danger and unpredictability of the work environment, the consequent dependence of officers on each other for assistance and protection, officers’ autonomy in handling situations, and the need to assert and maintain one’s authority.”

Walker• Typical offender: African American or Hispanic

• Typical crime: Violent

• “In the end, there is no escaping the question of race and crime”

• Racial minorities are more likely than whites in most circumstances to be victimized by a crime, according to recent victimization data.

• Myths of gangs:• Gangs are only found in large cities• All gang members are African American and belong to either the

Bloods or Crips• All gangs are involved in selling drugs and drug trafficking• Gangs are the result of poverty and a growing underclass• All gang members are male

Official Reports’ support for Henry, Worden, and Walker Readings

• Henry says police training increases in-group solidarity and homogeneity. Official report shows charges against Bowen, Gisevius, Faulcon, and Villavaso for “aiding and abetting one another.” Five officers have now pled guilty and admitted involvement in the cover-up of the incident.

• Worden says: “Police culture emphasizes the danger and unpredictability of the work environment.” Official reports say Bowen, Gisevius, Faulcon, and Villavaso reported to the bridge in “response to a call that officers had come under fire.” The officers then open-fired on civilians.

• Walker identifies the typical offender as African American or Hispanic and the typical crime to be violent. This bias led to, what is said in the official report, shooting at innocent civilians running away from gunfire, such as the Bartholomews’ 14-year-old son. Also led to the death of James Brissette and Ronald Madison, along with the arrest of Lance Madison for “eight accounts of attempted murder of a police officer.”

The above are based on official reports of the Danziger Bridge Incident filed on 07/12/10 and 10/26/10.

Danziger Bridge in the news• August 13, 2008 – Seven police officers involved in Danziger

Bridge case were acquitted of the murder and attempted murder charges against them by the ruling of Criminal District Court Judge Raymond Bigelow– Officers charged of first-degree murder:

• Robert Faulcon• Kenneth Bowen• Robert Gisevius• Anthony Villavaso

– Officers charged with attempted murder• Robert Barrios• Michael Hunter• Ignatius Hills

– All pleaded not guilty

Times Picayune Article: http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/08/murder_charges_against_seven_n.html

• August 14, 2008 – Reasoning for acquitting the seven officers is revealed.– Judge Bigelow states: “The state improperly

disclosed grand jury testimony to another police officer.”

– NOPD is clearly still flawed.– Jim Letten’s office does not want to take the case

Times Picayune Article http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2008/08/charges_rejected_against_danzi.html

• August 15, 2008 – Orleans Parish District Attorney Keva Landrum-Johnson sent a letter to U.S. Justice Department asking them to take over the case.– Landrum-Johnson steps down after sending the letter– Ronald Madison’s family also asked the federal

government to step in

Times Picayune Article __http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2008/08/ex-da_asked_feds_to_look_at_ki.html__

• September 30, 2008 – Jim Letten announces that the federal government will step in and investigate– Letten says, “As a result of this productive dialog

and referral to us, the Civil Rights Division, FBI, and our U.S. Attorney’s Office will utilize as much time and resources as necessary to determine whether there are any prosecutable violation of federal criminal laws in this matter.”

Times Picayune Article: http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/09/feds_to_examine_danziger_bridg.html

Danziger Bridge in court

• Lt. Michael Lohman pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice in the Danziger Bridge shootings.

• scheme to plant a gun at the scene• helped rewrite police reports and witness

statements

Court continued….The case today:• Feb. 24, 2010- Michael Lohman entered a guilty plea for

obstruction of justice.• April 2010, Michael Hunter pled guilty and described the

accurate story of the Danziger Bridge shootings• July 2010- a federal grand jury indicted four police officers (as

well as two original investigators)• The federal government is expected to file charges according to

the "Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law," which states that anyone who acts, under color of law, to unlawfully deprive a citizen of their right to life, may be sentenced to death.

People Speaking Out• Oral history: "Radio communication was at a minimum. [The police] felt isolated,

abandoned. They had no place to live or sleep. Rumors were just wild. Sniper fire, armed individuals on the street. And in some cases, that information was true," Radosti says, “but aggressive law enforcement has to come with common sense. If the officers there acted with good faith, the grand jury is going to exonerate them. But if the officers acted in bad faith, playing cowboys, that has to be seriously looked at," he says. Radosti is a former veteran investigator having served for 23 years.

• Documentary: A short documentary done by “The Real News” shows unnecessary police brutality. Police propagated fear and dangerous rumors which led to violence and attacks. The documentary also discusses how race and poverty level dictated police respect (or rather disrespect). They state this to be a systemic problem and not just Katrina caused.

• Documentary: CNN did a documentary on the bridge in February as indictments came to light. A question arises: “It is not the 7 men under investigation which is critical; what is critical is whether or not NOPD can even investigate themselves”.

This data is gathered from documentaries and NPR oral histories:http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6063982http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uU3jeJ-8OqQ&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UPSE1OU9Gc

Police Speaking Out

• Pro Danziger policemen’s case– Stress– Little communication– Rumors

• Con Danziger policemen’s case– No excuse for shooting, overzealous– Trained to handle shooting situations– The cover up was inexcusableThis data is gathered from oral histories and interviews: http://policingkatrina.wikispaces.com/Police+Interviewshttp://policingkatrina.wikispaces.com/Oral+Histories

The Final Verdict

• Good cops gone bad?• Bad cops staying bad?• An inevitable situation in post Katrina New

Orleans?• All of the above?

Work Cited• CNN article: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uU3jeJ-8OqQ&feature=related• Katie Gerig Jeff Darling interview of anonymous officer:

http://policingkatrina.wikispaces.com/Police+Interviews• Official reports on bridge: http://www.propublica.org/documents/item/u-s-v-jeffrey-

lehrmann-factual-basis• Official reports on bridge: http://policingkatrina.wikispaces.com/file/view/danziger-

indictment.pdf• Oral history of Shannon Reeves: http://policingkatrina.wikispaces.com/Oral+Histories• Radosti quote: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6063982• The Real News: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UPSE1OU9Gc• Times Picayune Article:

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/09/feds_to_examine_danziger_bridg.html • Times Picayune Article __http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2008/08/ex-

da_asked_feds_to_look_at_ki.html__• Times Picayune Article

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2008/08/charges_rejected_against_danzi.html • Times Picayune Article:

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/08/murder_charges_against_seven_n.html