Six New Orleans police officers were indicted Tuesday in the shooting of unarmed civilians in the days after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city, the US Justice Department said. In the incident, known as the Danziger Bridge case, two civilians were shot dead and four others wounded in two separate shootings on September 4, 2005 -- one week after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, causing massive flooding and displacing thousands of people.
The indictment follows guilty pleas from five former New Orleans Police Department officers who admitted to helping cover up the incident.
Four officers -- Kenneth Bowen, Robert Gisevius, Robert Faulcon and Anthony Villavaso -- are charged in connection with the shootings.
They and two supervisors -- Arthur "Archie" Kaufman and Gerard Dugue -- are charged with helping obstruct the subsequent investigations.
The indictment alleges that Bowen, Gisevius, Faulcon and Villavaso fired on an unarmed family on the east side of the bridge, killing a 17-year- old boy, and wounding four others, including a 17 year-old girl. A 14 year-old boy belonging to the family fled and was uninjured.
Moments later the same officers allegedly shot at two middle-aged brothers. One, who had "severe mental disabilities," was shot in the back as he fled, then kicked and stomped, and died after the beating.
The other man, identified as Lance Madison, was arrested and charged him with eight counts of attempting to kill police officers.
However officers "collected no guns or shell casings on the day of the shooting, and 30 casings they collected more than a month later were allegedly fired by officers rather than civilians.
"Madison was held in jail for three weeks, but was eventually released without indictment," read the Department of Justice statement.
"As our investigation of the Danziger Bridge incident shows, the Justice Department will vigorously pursue anyone who allegedly violated the law," said Attorney General Eric Holder. "Put simply, we will not tolerate wrongdoing by those who have sworn to protect the public."
The four officers charged with killing civilians could the death penalty, while the other officers face lengthy prison sentences.
