A US federal jury has convicted five former police officers in connection with the shooting of six unarmed people in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005.
Four officers faced up to 25 counts each for their role in the shootings, two of which were fatal, while a fifth officer was convicted of helping the others cover the incident up.
‘This shows that law enforcement officers will be held accountable for their actions,’ said US Attorney Jim Letten after the guilty verdict was handed down on multiple counts of civil rights violations and conspiracy.
‘The culture that fostered this code of silence is being shattered every day,’ he added.
The four officers could now face life imprisonment after being convicted of the deaths of two unarmed African Americans in the days after Katrina devastated the southern US city.
The fifth officer, a supervisor involved in investigating the shootings, was charged with leading the cover-up and could face 120 years in prison.
The trial focused on events on the morning of 4 September 2005 on the city's Danziger Bridge when officers, responding to a call of shooting in the area, let off what prosecutors have described as a ‘hail of gunfire’.
Ronald Madison, a 40-year-old mentally disabled man said by his family to be gentle and loving, was shot several times in the back and died at the scene. One of the officers, Kenneth Bowen, also stamped on him while he lay wounded.
James Brissette, 17, a high school student who friends said was nerdy and studious, also died. Four others people from the same family were also wounded.
Hurricane Katrina smashed through the city's poorly maintained levees on 29 August 2005, causing the Gulf of Mexico waters to flood and swallow up 80% of New Orleans. The natural disaster left thousands stranded on their rooftops.
Reports of widespread looting and armed gangs roaming the city shifted the government's already botched response to the disaster from humanitarian aid to a military operation.
Speaking after the verdict, Sherrel Johnson, the mother of James Brisette, said the officers, ‘took the twinkle out of my eye, the song out of my voice, and blew out my candle,’ when they killed her son.
The sister of Mr Madison, Jacqueline Madison Brown, told reporters: ‘Ronald Madison brought great love to our family. Shooting him down was like shooting an innocent child.’
Kenneth Bowen, Robert Gisevius, Anthony Villavaso, and Robert Faulcon, were the officers involved in the shooting.
Their supervisor, Sergeant Arthur Kaufman, was not on the bridge but was convicted of leading the conspiracy.
