Katrina Bridge Killing Case Goes To Jury
NEW ORLEANS - After nearly seven hours of closing arguments, the landmark case of several current and former New Orleans police officers accused of shooting unarmed civilians on the Danziger Bridge after Hurricane Katrina has been placed in a jury's hands.
A federal jury began their deliberations Wednesday after U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt read them instructions on the law and the charges in the case.
The shootings on Sept. 4, 2005, at the Danziger Bridge were the most well-known incidents of post-Katrina police violence.
About a dozen officers arrived at the bridge after a distress call about a fellow officer under fire. Police shot six people, killing two.
Prosecutors say the officers shot unarmed people with no justification and then engaged in a cover-up sceme that included fabricated witnesses, falsified reports and a planted gun.
No one disputed that the officers had fired at civilians. The trial focused on whether they used reasonable force and acted willfully and if they conspired to cover their tracks.
Defense attorneys say police reasonably believed their lives were in danger when they opened fire.
