New Orleans Police Force Rebuilds From Within After Katrina Indictments
With 13 officers indicted, the police force tries to regain order.
Aug. 27, 2010— -- Still suffering from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans police department has it anything but easy as it tries to regain order among its officers as much as out on the city's streets.
The subject of nine U.S. Department of Justice investigations, 13 New Orleans police officers have been indicted for various crimes, ranging from shootings to civil rights violations that happened in the days after Katrina.
Lt. Mike Field vividly remembers driving down flooded roads, and watching as residents quickly became angry and desperate after having their livelihoods washed away.
"People started turning on the police, accusing them of all sorts of things. Police did this, police did that," he said.
The city was left in total chaos after the storm hit, and the New Orleans police department was scattered. Some officers stayed in the makeshift headquarters at Harrah's Casino, but hundreds reportedly abandoned their posts.
There were other reports of serious confusion over what rules to follow, and some officers claimed they were instructed to shoot looters.
One notorious incident took place on Danzinger Bridge, when police allegedly opened fire on several unarmed civilians, killing a 17-year-old and a mentally disabled man.
If convicted, the cops involved in those shootings may face the death penalty, and five others have pled guilty to trying to cover up their crimes.
"It reads like a horrible novel. It's just terrible," said Ronal Serpas, the new chief of police.
"When I read those guilty pleas, I was embarrassed for every police member's family in America who had to read and see what those people have admitted to doing."
A new Orleans native, Serpas said that mayor Mitch Landrieu's decision to bring in the Justice Department to conduct the investigations was "perfect ... exactly what needed to happen" to clean up the police department.
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