Vol. 75/No. 30      August 22, 2011

Sgt. Kenneth Bowen, Sgt. Robert Gisevius, Officer Anthony Villavaso, and former cop Robert Faulcon were convicted of federal civil rights violations for killing 17-year-old James Brissette and shooting four others. Faulcon was found guilty of shooting 40-year-old Ronald Madison, and Bowen for stomping Madison as he lay dying.

“When I heard the verdict, I was so happy I could have dropped my walking stick and danced on the roof of the federal building,” Rebecca Glover, a retired nurse, told the Militant by phone from New Orleans. Her nephew, 31-year-old Henry Glover, was killed by police September 2, a couple days before the Danziger Bridge shootings. In December 2010, two cops were convicted in connection with Glover’s killing. Officer Greg McRae was sentenced to 17 years in prison, and Officer David Warren to more than 25 years.

“It’s good this has been shown for what it is,” Glover said. “This kind of thing has been going on for quite a while, you know. When I was a girl, my parents didn’t want to talk about it.”

According to the indictment, police officers drove up to the bridge in a Budget rental truck and opened fire, killing Brissette and seriously wounding several others. Susan Bartholomew lost her right arm in the shooting. Her husband Leonard was shot three times, and their teenage daughter Lesha four. Jose Holmes, the Bartholomews’ nephew, was shot several times and had to have a colostomy.

Police then turned their guns on brothers Lance and Ronald Madison. Ronald was shot in the back trying to flee.

Officers sought to frame Lance Madison and Holmes for shooting at them, a claim proven false by evidence and eyewitness testimony, including from police officers.

During the social disaster in Katrina’s wake, government officials emboldened cops by painting New Orleans working people, largely left to fend for themselves, as dangerous criminals. On Sept. 1, 2005, Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco told the press that Arkansas guardsmen sent to “restore order” to the city “know how to shoot to kill … and I expect they will.”

The five officers were found guilty on 25 counts, including obstructing justice, fabricating witnesses, lying to federal investigators, and planting evidence. The four involved in the shootings were convicted on weapons charges and civil rights violations.

According to the Times-Picayune, U.S. Attorney Jim Letten said Faulcon is looking at a minimum of 60 years in prison. The other three convicted in the shootings face a mandatory minimum of 35 years. All four have been in custody since their indictment. Retired sergeant Arthur Kaufman, who headed the police investigation and is out on bail, faces a maximum 120 years for his part in the cover-up. Sentencing is set for December 14.

“Any guilty verdict against the cops is good, but this doesn’t end here,” Rev. Raymond Brown, a local civil rights leader, told the Militant in a phone interview. “People around the country need to know that police brutality continues in New Orleans.”

The victims, their families, and others organized a broad political campaign for justice. “Without the support and hard work of my family I would still be in jail, imprisoned on false charges,” Lance Madison said at a press conference outside the courthouse that was posted to the Times-Picayune website. “The truth about what happened on the Danziger Bridge might never have been known.”
 
 
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