Watchdogging Investigation of New Orleans Killings

Watchdogging Investigation of New Orleans Killings

Watchdogging Investigation of New Orleans Killings

Two former police members recently admitted to participating in a cover-up of the killings and wounding of unarmed civilians in New Orleans shortly after Hurricane Katrina. Nation reporter A.C. Thompson, who first broke the story in December 2008, is continuing to report on the investigation.

Facebook
Twitter
Email
Flipboard
Pocket

Two former police members recently admitted to participating in a cover-up of the killings and wounding of unarmed civilians in the Danziger Bridge shootings in New Orleans shortly after Hurricane Katrina. Federal investigators are looking into three other shooting deaths and one non-fatal shooting involving the New Orleans police department.

Nation and ProPublica reporter A.C. Thompson, who first broke the story in December 2008, is continuing to report on the ongoing investigations. He joins Democracy Now to discuss the latest details of the investigations. He starts with the shooting death of Henry Glover.

“What we’re learning about the Henry Glover shooting and his death…is that the police report that was generated documenting the officer involved…looks to have been altered, fabricated, changed from its original form from what was originally submitted to the police department,” Thompson said, which makes the Glover incident similar to the Danziger Bridge shooting, that also had fabricated reports.

The Danziger Bridge shooting, which wounded six and killed two, occurred when police received a call that two officers were wounded under the Danziger bridge. A truckload of officers drove to the bridge and said that they were fired on by citizens. “What we’re learning from the plea deals that are coming out in federal court are that other officers are saying that ‘no, citizens were not shooting, there was no gunfire, the people who started shooting were the police immediately,'” Thompson explains.

Thompson describes the conspiracy by the New Orleans police department to cover up the shootings as “cinematic and mind-blowing.”

–Morgan Ashenfelter

Thank you for reading The Nation!

We hope you enjoyed the story you just read, just one of the many incisive, deeply-reported articles we publish daily. Now more than ever, we need fearless journalism that shifts the needle on important issues, uncovers malfeasance and corruption, and uplifts voices and perspectives that often go unheard in mainstream media.

Throughout this critical election year and a time of media austerity and renewed campus activism and rising labor organizing, independent journalism that gets to the heart of the matter is more critical than ever before. Donate right now and help us hold the powerful accountable, shine a light on issues that would otherwise be swept under the rug, and build a more just and equitable future.

For nearly 160 years, The Nation has stood for truth, justice, and moral clarity. As a reader-supported publication, we are not beholden to the whims of advertisers or a corporate owner. But it does take financial resources to report on stories that may take weeks or months to properly investigate, thoroughly edit and fact-check articles, and get our stories into the hands of readers.

Donate today and stand with us for a better future. Thank you for being a supporter of independent journalism.

Thank you for your generosity.

Ad Policy
x