They should all be hung
Katrina - NOPD Officer Stomped On Dying Man
Witness: NOPD Officer Stomped On Dying Man
http://www.officer.com/news/10290942/witness-nopd-officer-stomped-on-dying-man
NEW ORLEANS --
A police officer randomly sprayed gunfire at wounded, unarmed people and repeatedly stomped on a dying man who had already been shot while running from police on a bridge after Hurricane Katrina, a former officer who also opened fire during the deadly encounter testified Wednesday.
Michael Hunter, a government witness in a federal trial of five current or former officers, said he was shocked when Sgt. Kenneth Bowen leaned over a concrete barrier and fired an assault rifle at several people who had been shot by police on the Danziger Bridge less than a week after the 2005 hurricane struck.
Hunter, who has pleaded guilty to participating in a cover-up to make the shootings appear justified, is a key government witness in a case that has stunned a city with a history of police corruption. His testimony was the most detailed eyewitness account of the shootings in the trial so far. It also may help explain why police allegedly fired on unarmed residents when they responded to a distress call that other officers were under fire.
Hunter said Bowen, one of the officers on trial, was armed with an assault rifle when he fired "indiscriminately" at several people lying wounded on the east side of the bridge, where 17-year-old James Brissette died. Hunter, who said he didn't perceive any threat from them, testified that he peered over the barrier and saw two wounded females on the ground, embracing each other and crying.
"I thought it was kind of messed up that the females got shot," he said.
Hunter said Bowen later stomped on the back of 40-year-old Ronald Madison, a mentally disabled man, after another officer shot Madison in the back on the west side of the bridge. Hunter said Bowen apologized after he angrily confronted him for stomping on Madison.
"I was out of line," Bowen said, according to Hunter.
"We're not animals like them. We don't do that," Hunter recalled how he responded.
Hunter, who already has been sentenced to eight years in prison, is one of five former officers who pleaded guilty to participating in a cover-up.
Hunter said he didn't feel threatened when he shot at people fleeing on the bridge, but fired at them anyway without warning because he was angry and "wanted to send a message."
"What was it?" a federal prosecutor asked Hunter.
"Don't mess with us," Hunter said.
Bowen's attorney, Frank DeSalvo, suggested during cross-examination that Hunter tailored his story to please prosecutors offering him a deal.
"The only thing I agreed to do was tell the truth," Hunter said during the exchange.
Bowen and three others were indicted last year on charges stemming from the shootings. Sgt. Arthur Kaufman, who was assigned to investigate the shootings, is charged in the alleged cover-up.
On Sept. 4, 2005, less than a week after Katrina's flooding plunged New Orleans into chaos, Hunter drove a group of officers to the bridge in a rental truck in response to another officer's radio call for help.
Hunter said he spotted several people on the bridge before he reached out the driver's side window and fired warning shots in the air
As Ronald Madison and his brother, Lance, ran up the bridge, another group of people scrambled for cover behind the concrete barrier. Hunter testified that he jumped out of the truck and fired his department-issued handgun at the Madisons but didn't hit them as they ran.
Hunter said he didn't view them as a threat but fired at them without identifying himself as a police officer or issuing a warning "mostly because I wasn't thinking straight." Hunter said he believed the Madisons may have shot at police officers on the bridge.
Turning attention to the concrete barrier, Hunter said he yelled, "Cease fire!" at Bowen and at least one other officer who was shooting. The gunfire momentarily stopped before Bowen allegedly leaned over and fired more shots.
"There was no threat," Hunter said. "I was shocked."
Driving the truck to the top of the bridge, Hunter saw the Madisons and a third man running away. He and two other officers hitched a ride with a Louisiana State Police trooper and chased them to the west side, where former officer Robert Faulcon allegedly shot Ronald Madison in the back with a shotgun.
Bowen walked up and asked, "Is this one of them?" before he stomped on Madison several times, Hunter added.
"He was very angry," Hunter recalled. "He had a very malicious look in his eye."
Hunter said he and other officers who fired guns later gathered at a makeshift police station to discuss the matter.
"It was pretty obvious that they were initiating a cover-up," he said. "They didn't separate us and ask us questions individually. Nothing was collected from the scene."
http://www.officer.com/news/10290942/witness-nopd-officer-stomped-on-dying-man
NEW ORLEANS --
A police officer randomly sprayed gunfire at wounded, unarmed people and repeatedly stomped on a dying man who had already been shot while running from police on a bridge after Hurricane Katrina, a former officer who also opened fire during the deadly encounter testified Wednesday.
Michael Hunter, a government witness in a federal trial of five current or former officers, said he was shocked when Sgt. Kenneth Bowen leaned over a concrete barrier and fired an assault rifle at several people who had been shot by police on the Danziger Bridge less than a week after the 2005 hurricane struck.
Hunter, who has pleaded guilty to participating in a cover-up to make the shootings appear justified, is a key government witness in a case that has stunned a city with a history of police corruption. His testimony was the most detailed eyewitness account of the shootings in the trial so far. It also may help explain why police allegedly fired on unarmed residents when they responded to a distress call that other officers were under fire.
Hunter said Bowen, one of the officers on trial, was armed with an assault rifle when he fired "indiscriminately" at several people lying wounded on the east side of the bridge, where 17-year-old James Brissette died. Hunter, who said he didn't perceive any threat from them, testified that he peered over the barrier and saw two wounded females on the ground, embracing each other and crying.
"I thought it was kind of messed up that the females got shot," he said.
Hunter said Bowen later stomped on the back of 40-year-old Ronald Madison, a mentally disabled man, after another officer shot Madison in the back on the west side of the bridge. Hunter said Bowen apologized after he angrily confronted him for stomping on Madison.
"I was out of line," Bowen said, according to Hunter.
"We're not animals like them. We don't do that," Hunter recalled how he responded.
Hunter, who already has been sentenced to eight years in prison, is one of five former officers who pleaded guilty to participating in a cover-up.
Hunter said he didn't feel threatened when he shot at people fleeing on the bridge, but fired at them anyway without warning because he was angry and "wanted to send a message."
"What was it?" a federal prosecutor asked Hunter.
"Don't mess with us," Hunter said.
Bowen's attorney, Frank DeSalvo, suggested during cross-examination that Hunter tailored his story to please prosecutors offering him a deal.
"The only thing I agreed to do was tell the truth," Hunter said during the exchange.
Bowen and three others were indicted last year on charges stemming from the shootings. Sgt. Arthur Kaufman, who was assigned to investigate the shootings, is charged in the alleged cover-up.
On Sept. 4, 2005, less than a week after Katrina's flooding plunged New Orleans into chaos, Hunter drove a group of officers to the bridge in a rental truck in response to another officer's radio call for help.
Hunter said he spotted several people on the bridge before he reached out the driver's side window and fired warning shots in the air
As Ronald Madison and his brother, Lance, ran up the bridge, another group of people scrambled for cover behind the concrete barrier. Hunter testified that he jumped out of the truck and fired his department-issued handgun at the Madisons but didn't hit them as they ran.
Hunter said he didn't view them as a threat but fired at them without identifying himself as a police officer or issuing a warning "mostly because I wasn't thinking straight." Hunter said he believed the Madisons may have shot at police officers on the bridge.
Turning attention to the concrete barrier, Hunter said he yelled, "Cease fire!" at Bowen and at least one other officer who was shooting. The gunfire momentarily stopped before Bowen allegedly leaned over and fired more shots.
"There was no threat," Hunter said. "I was shocked."
Driving the truck to the top of the bridge, Hunter saw the Madisons and a third man running away. He and two other officers hitched a ride with a Louisiana State Police trooper and chased them to the west side, where former officer Robert Faulcon allegedly shot Ronald Madison in the back with a shotgun.
Bowen walked up and asked, "Is this one of them?" before he stomped on Madison several times, Hunter added.
"He was very angry," Hunter recalled. "He had a very malicious look in his eye."
Hunter said he and other officers who fired guns later gathered at a makeshift police station to discuss the matter.
"It was pretty obvious that they were initiating a cover-up," he said. "They didn't separate us and ask us questions individually. Nothing was collected from the scene."
1 - 18 of 18 Posts
The most dangerous "gang" there is...
Anyone who has been to New Orleans for a while knows how rife with corruption the NOPD had become. They would manufacture evidence, beat and intimidate witnesses, and cover up murder. The honest cops on the force lived and worked in fear. Thjis was from the top down, witness Ed Compass' abuse of citizens rights and lying his butt off denying it.Sickening
This is really tough to read. It's a little insght into what happens during the breakdown of social order and how humans can behave like animals. Especially the attitude of "we are not animals like them". That whole Katria thing was a mess, and then the people that tried to rebuild got hit by Faye and Gustav and Ike.
In a wonderful example of the Gov't doing the wrong thing, they then wrote these people blank checks without any accountabiity to ensure that the money was being used to rebuild. So things are still a mess to this day and the money is gone. The damage that remains is not only physical dmage either.
BTW if you have never had a couple of those giant Mississippi cockroaches running around inside the hood of your tyvek suit because they crawled in the little gap left between the drawstring and your eyeglasses frame you are missing a good time, that was just one of the highlights that I experienced volunteering down there. They grow 'em big down there!
In a wonderful example of the Gov't doing the wrong thing, they then wrote these people blank checks without any accountabiity to ensure that the money was being used to rebuild. So things are still a mess to this day and the money is gone. The damage that remains is not only physical dmage either.
BTW if you have never had a couple of those giant Mississippi cockroaches running around inside the hood of your tyvek suit because they crawled in the little gap left between the drawstring and your eyeglasses frame you are missing a good time, that was just one of the highlights that I experienced volunteering down there. They grow 'em big down there!
Are you saying NOPD is an isolated incident of corruption and use of excess power?NRATC53 said:Anyone who has been to New Orleans for a while knows how rife with corruption the NOPD had become. They would manufacture evidence, beat and intimidate witnesses, and cover up murder. The honest cops on the force lived and worked in fear. Thjis was from the top down, witness Ed Compass' abuse of citizens rights and lying his butt off denying it.Sickening
Isn't there any corruption, coverups, use of excess power in NYC, Nassau or Suffolk police?
2 words for you. Duct Tape.Captain Will said:This is really tough to read. It's a little insght into what happens during the breakdown of social order and how humans can behave like animals. Especially the attitude of "we are not animals like them". That whole Katria thing was a mess, and then the people that tried to rebuild got hit by Faye and Gustav and Ike.
In a wonderful example of the Gov't doing the wrong thing, they then wrote these people blank checks without any accountabiity to ensure that the money was being used to rebuild. So things are still a mess to this day and the money is gone. The damage that remains is not only physical dmage either.
BTW if you have never had a couple of those giant Mississippi cockroaches running around inside the hood of your tyvek suit because they crawled in the little gap left between the drawstring and your eyeglasses frame you are missing a good time, that was just one of the highlights that I experienced volunteering down there. They grow 'em big down there!
Probably, but they are not in the same realm.BKLYN_C said:Are you saying NOPD is an isolated incident of corruption and use of excess power?
Isn't there any corruption, coverups, use of excess power in NYC, Nassau or Suffolk police?
I'm sure they meant well and were just trying to help.
So nice to know that you can count on the police 'to serve and protect' when you really need them. That scum should be sentenced sharpish, thrown in general population whilst serving their life sentence and be forced to wear their police uniforms all the time. Have fun boys......
You choose to act/behave like the scum that you are paid to protect us from.........then you can have a life sentence and spend the rest of your miserable days surrounded by those very people......whom I sure will be totally thrilled to see you!
You choose to act/behave like the scum that you are paid to protect us from.........then you can have a life sentence and spend the rest of your miserable days surrounded by those very people......whom I sure will be totally thrilled to see you!
Not in the same league, by any means. I can't even describe how bad it was down there. There are bad folks everywhere, even in uniform, but theNOPD was in a class by themselves, believe me. Waaaaaay over the top.BKLYN_C said:Are you saying NOPD is an isolated incident of corruption and use of excess power?
Isn't there any corruption, coverups, use of excess power in NYC, Nassau or Suffolk police?
I can't state on how bad it was there or is here as I'm not an insider, but what I see as an average citizen doesnt impress me. It wasn't long ago when few cops fired over 50 rounds into unarmed man in Queens, let alone the small violations of rights and liberties of people and open disconsern to our needs and safety. Frankly, I don't see a point to argue with you, you will stand for your uniformed colleges despite any facts that anyone may bring.NRATC53 said:Not in the same league, by any means. I can't even describe how bad it was down there. There are bad folks everywhere, even in uniform, but theNOPD was in a class by themselves, believe me. Waaaaaay over the top.
Our cops are saints compared to the New Orleans Police.
I have a suspicion the NOPD's problems with corruption and outright criminality having to do with a lack of oversight by a person or a group independent of the said police force or the local government.
A hurricane is no excuse for barbaric activity, some of those British colonies in the Caribbean get walloped by hurricanes all the time and the police don't go around looting stores and murdering people.
I have a suspicion the NOPD's problems with corruption and outright criminality having to do with a lack of oversight by a person or a group independent of the said police force or the local government.
A hurricane is no excuse for barbaric activity, some of those British colonies in the Caribbean get walloped by hurricanes all the time and the police don't go around looting stores and murdering people.
Number 1- They aren't my "colleges"BKLYN_C said:I can't state on how bad it was there or is here as I'm not an insider, but what I see as an average citizen doesnt impress me. It wasn't long ago when few cops fired over 50 rounds into unarmed man in Queens, let alone the small violations of rights and liberties of people and open disconsern to our needs and safety. Frankly, I don't see a point to argue with you, you will stand for your uniformed colleges despite any facts that anyone may bring.
Number 2 -Apparently you must think I would defend someone's actions just because they are "on the job". Nothing can be further from the truth. My statement was made based on observations of LEOs in many different agencies in this and other areas, and the NOPD. The corruption in NOPD is the stuff of legend, as is their penchant for beating someone senseless or killing them, and then covering it up with false reports and perjury. If what happened down there happened up here, the news outlets couldn't cover it all.
I know very little of the case, but as has been shown during other large scale natural disasters.. when social order breaks down.. bad things happen, and the police are only human, they are susceptible to the same behavior, being armed and generally organized does give them a slight advantage.
Of corset a we all are only humans. But for some reason not all of us get special training and the use it to shoot in the back of unarmed disabled man.TactiDork said:I know very little of the case, but as has been shown during other large scale natural disasters.. when social order breaks down.. bad things happen, and the police are only human, they are susceptible to the same behavior, being armed and generally organized does give them a slight advantage.
If that was your attempt to rationale a senseless killing than it was a very pathetic one.
ok, I'm out of this thread
No, no, pay no attention! Give up your guns and let the police protect you!
Ftr, I am not a cop basher... I love cops, I just know that they are human. Most are good, some are bad... and only bad ones need fear an armed law abiding citizen.
Ftr, I am not a cop basher... I love cops, I just know that they are human. Most are good, some are bad... and only bad ones need fear an armed law abiding citizen.
1 - 18 of 18 Posts
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