Mark St. Pierre

Ex-New Orleans Official Testifies About Strippers, Gambling, Sex On Yacht

Eric Lach | May 13, 2011, 4:23PM

The former Chief Information Officer of the city of News Orleans testified in federal court on Wednesday that for several years, starting in 2002, he directed millions of dollars in taxpayer money to vendor Mark St. Pierre, The Times-Picayune reports. In return, Greg Meffert told the court, St. Pierre provided kickbacks including, eventually, access to a yacht and cash with which to gamble, buy booze and hire strippers. The strippers were also paid "to perform sex acts on Meffert, St. Pierre and others in the city's technology office," according to the paper.

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New Orleans Police Department

Federal Review Finds Systematic Problems In New Orleans Police Dept.

Ryan J. Reilly | March 17, 2011, 12:15PM

A federal review of the New Orleans Police Department has found the department used excessive force; made unconstitutional stops, searches and arrests; engaged in biased policing based on race, ethnicity and sexual orientation; failed to provide effective policing services to those with limited English proficiency; and systematically failure to investigate sexual assaults and domestic violence.

The review by the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division confirmed systemic failures in the notorious NOPD which they said "developed over a long period of time." The report comes after the Civil Rights Division has spent nearly a year virtually camped out in New Orleans monitoring the operation of the NOPD.

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Danziger Bridge

Lawyers For NOLA Cops Charged In Danziger Killings To Meet With DOJ

Rachel Slajda | August 24, 2010, 9:37AM

The Danziger Bridge in New Orleans

Lawyers for the four current and former New Orleans police officers charged with killing civilians in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina will meet with Justice Department lawyers today to urge the DOJ not to pursue the death penalty.

The four were charged in July with violating the civil rights of unarmed civilians on the Danziger Bridge when they allegedly opened fire, killing two and wounding four, and then, allegedly, covered up what happened on the bridge.

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Danziger Bridge

Three Cops Accused In Danziger Shootings To Be Held Until Trial

Rachel Slajda | July 16, 2010, 4:24PM

The Danziger Bridge in New Orleans

Three of the New Orleans police officers charged with shooting unarmed civilians in the days after Hurricane Katrina will be held without bond until their September trial, a judge ruled today.

Kenneth Bowen, Robert Gisevius and Anthony Villavaso face charges of civil rights violations for allegedly killing two civilians and wounding four others on the Danziger Bridge in New Orleans. Their trial is scheduled for Sept. 13. They have pleaded not guilty.

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Danziger Bridge

Three Cops Accused In Danziger Bridge Shootings Plead Not Guilty

Rachel Slajda | July 14, 2010, 4:11PM

The Danziger Bridge in New Orleans

Three New Orleans police officers charged this week in the post-Katrina shootings on Danziger Bridge have pleaded not guilty.

Robert Gisevius, Kenneth Bowen and Anthony Villavaso pleaded not guilty today to charges of civil rights violations and conspiracy for allegedly shooting unarmed civilians in the days after Hurricane Katrina, killing two and wounding four, and then attempting to cover it up.

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New Orleans Police Department

Feds Announce Probe Of New Orleans Police Dept.

Justin Elliott | May 17, 2010, 4:40PM

Thomas Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division

In a press conference in New Orleans today, Justice Department Civil Rights chief Thomas Perez announced the DOJ is launching a formal assessment of the city's troubled police department, the first step to installing federal oversight.

The Times-Picayune reports:

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New Orleans Police Department

New Orleans Mayor Asks Feds To Reform City's Notorious Police Department

Justin Elliott | May 5, 2010, 5:39PM

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu

Just two days after taking office, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu held a press conference today to announce he has asked the Justice Department to intervene and force a "complete transformation" of the city's troubled police department.

"I have inherited a police force that has been described by many as one of the worst police departments in the country. This assessment is made based on several indicators including the number of violent crimes, incidents of rape, and malfeasance by members of the police department," Landrieu wrote in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder.

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Danziger Bridge

Civilian Pleads Guilty For Lying To FBI About Post-Katrina Shootings

Justin Elliott | April 28, 2010, 3:56PM

The Danziger Bridge in New Orleans

A man who was on the scene of the deadly police shootings of unarmed civilians on Danziger Bridge in the days after Hurricane Katrina pleaded guilty today to lying to an FBI agent about what happened that day, and for illegally possessing a firearm.

The guilty plea from David Ryder, 45, follows several guilty pleas from police officers who were involved in covering up the shooting, which left two unarmed civilians dead and four seriously injured. The Justice Department press release on the case describes how Ryder misled an FBI agent in the case:

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Danziger Bridge

Fourth New Orleans Officer Charged In Coverup Of Post-Katrina Shootings

Justin Elliott | April 16, 2010, 2:35PM

The Danziger Bridge in New Orleans

A fourth New Orleans police officer was charged today in connection with the coverup of the police shootings of unarmed civilians on Danziger Bridge in New Orleans less than a week after Hurricane Katrina struck.

Officer Robert Barrios is accused of conspiring to obstruct justice with other officers who were on the scene when police killed two people and seriously wounded four others in what the Times-Picayune editorial board recently dubbed a "massacre."

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New Orleans

Justice Department Moves To Reform Notorious New Orleans Police Department

Justin Elliott | April 13, 2010, 9:39AM

The federal criminal investigation of the police shootings of civilians on Danziger Bridge in post-Katrina New Orleans is just part of what the Justice Department acknowledges is an intensive review of the city's notorious police department. One option under review, TPMmuckraker has learned, is filing a civil rights lawsuit against the city in a move similar to the one the Justice Department took against the Los Angeles Police Department a decade ago.

"Criminal prosecutions alone, I have learned, are not enough to change the culture of a police department," Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Thomas Perez told TPMmuckraker in an interview Monday.

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Danziger Bridge

New Orleans Cop Explains How Police Gunned Down Unarmed Civilians In Post-Katrina Incident

Justin Elliott | April 8, 2010, 9:47AM

Fmr. New Orleans Police Officer Michael Hunter, center, shown in 2007 before turning himself in for an earlier set of charges in the Danziger shootings

A former New Orleans police officer has given authorities a shocking account of the killing by police of two unarmed civilians and the wounding of four others on Danziger Bridge in post-Katrina New Orleans.

The account of the September 2005 incident by former Officer Michael Hunter, 33, who pleaded guilty yesterday to charges associated with the coverup of the shootings, is contained in a court filing that you can read in full below.

In this excerpt, Hunter describes another officer shooting Ronald Madison, 40, a mentally disabled man, in the back with a shotgun. A second officer then beat the dying man on the ground, according to Hunter.

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