NOPD Investigated In Post-Katrina Civil Rights Cases
WDSU-TV
Sat August 8, 2009
Area: New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS - A federal investigation is being conducted into the New Orleans Police Department to determine if New Orleans police violated the civil rights of people killed and injured in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
FBI agents raided NOPD headquarters this week in connection with the infamous Danziger Bridge shooting, but that case may just be the beginning of bigger investigation.
WDSU was told that the search warrant on police headquarters happened just a couple days ago, but this type of investigation had been years in the making and the probe into the police department is broader than the events that happened on the Danziger Bridge that left two dead and four wounded.
Files and computer hard drives are what sources said federal investigators were after when they raided police head quarters this week.
In a statement, the special agent in charge said, "The FBI executed a search warrant as it relates to the ongoing civil rights investigation into the Danziger Bridge shootings post-Katrina. The affidavit remains under seal."
"That is usually done after the internal investigation and after the local law enforcement authorities decide not to pursue any charges, and that's what has occurred here," said former U.S. Attorney Harry Rosenberg.
The search warrant was executed for files in the homicide division -- a move Rosenberg said is rare.
"It's done when the FBI believes evidence may be destroyed if officers or other individuals become aware of a criminal investigation and are likely to dispose of electronic data or paper evidence that might assist the FBI in it's investigation," Rosenberg said.
Beyond the Danziger Bridge, sources familiar with the investigation said the FBI is looking into the police-involved shooting of Adolph Grimes on New Year's Eve and the death of Henry Glover, whose body was found in a burned out car in the days after Hurricane Katrina.
A community group that has been monitoring each of the cases said it's glad to see the FBI push for more information.
"This has been a long time coming," said Evelyn Lynn, of Safe Streets Strong Communities. "The police department here has been in crisis for a long time. Having federal help is going to help a lot in terms of the cases and the reforms that we need to make in the department."
The police released a statement in regard to the search warrant. It said, "The NOPD is cooperating with the U.S. Attorney's Office and the FBI in their continuing investigation into the Danziger Bridge incident."
The NOPD's Public Integrity Bureau helped the FBI execute the search warrants at police headquarters this week. A federal grand jury has been convened to look into each the Danziger, Glover and Grimes cases.
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