Ethnicity And Police Essay Example for Free

Ethni urban center And Police riseSeptember 4, 2005 six days after hurri plundere Katrina devastated the city of impertinent Orleans, six New Orleans law officers loaded into the back of a Budget rental truck and stormed the Danziger Bridge in the eastern stadium of the city. The officers were responding to a call of fortuitys come alived and an officer was down, in reality police officers escorting a civilian escort on the I-10 high rise made a distress call over the police wireless of shots fired on the Danziger Bridge and made the impression that an officer was down. A group of at to the lowest degree nine officers were in the truck all from the 7th districts make shift station. Claimed once they approached the bridge they certain gun fire from civilians, which made them open fire. Civilians on the bridge claim they were ambushed by the officers in the truck. The officers shot eight unarmed citizens fatally wounding two 17 stratum old James Brissette and 40 year o ld Robert capital of Wisconsin who was mentally disabled.The officers were wrong in doing so, because they did not verify any citizens carrying weapons nor did they range themselves as police officers. The officers opened fire on the civilians under the assumption they were carrying weapons. By doing so the officers did not follow standard procedures (Nola, 2005). The New Orleans Police Department investigated the shootings internally, but victims of the shootings felt that justice was not served. The Bartholomew and Madison families who were the victims along with an outcry from citizens of New Orleans led the Federal Bureau of investigations to investigate the citys police department. During the federal probe of the shootings, evidence was found that officers were not justified in the remainder of the two individuals, and the internal probe by investigators attempted to cover the evidence. Two years after the happening officers were arrested and indicted on murder charges, but the charges were dropped due to mishandling by the district attorneys office.Two weeks later the Civil Rights Division of the fall in States Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigationstook over the case. Robert Faulcon along with fivesome other police officers faced charges ranging from corruption, violation of civil rights, and weapons charges. Before the case went to trial the federal pursuit offered a series of plea bargains to the suspected officers because the case had been cold when they received it. On August 5, 2011 some six years after hurricane Katrina struck the city of New Orleans Robert Faulcon appeared in federal court, United States district judge Kurt Engelhart presided over the hearings (FBI, 2012).Robert Faulcon who fatally shot Robert Madison in the back with a scattergun testified that he never saw anyone on the bridge point a gun or fire at him, and that he never identified himself as a police officer or told Madison to stop. Two innocen t people died and several others were wounded that day on the Danziger Bridge by the police officers whose jobs were to protect their lives of the innocent. After testimonies from prosecution and defense the former officers were found guilty on all charges. Robert Faulcon was sentenced to cardinal five years in federal prison. police sergeant Kenneth Brown was sentenced to 40 years in prison, Sergeant Robert Gesivius also received 40 years in prison, and officer Anthony Villavaso received a 38 year sentence.Sergeant Authur Kaufman who was the lead investigator on the case, received a six year sentence for masking up the crimes during the investigation, and one officer was exonerated of the charges (Chicago Citizen, 2010). An attorney for the Department of Justice described the case as one of the most significant police misconduct incidents since the Rodney King beating. The New Orleans police department has a long history of corruption and violence. With the prosecution of these officers citizens hope that this will end the final chapter. And that they can begin to trust the officers sworn to protect them.References(2010, December 15). Former New Orleans Police Officer Sentenced for Role in Danziger Bridge Shootings. Chicago Citizen Chatham Southeast Edition. p. 3.(September 4, 2005). Police shoot eight on New Orleans bridge. Associated press. Retrieved from. http//www.nola.com/katrina/index.ssf/2005/09/police_shoot_8_on_new_orleans_b