NEW ORLEANS -- A family still without their loved one, a boy without his great uncle, and a man without his little brother. The relatives of one of the men killed during the shooting atop the Danziger Bridge is now speaking out about the latest revelation in the bizarre case.
"You know the intent is to kill somebody when you shot him in the back seven times," said Rommel Madison. His brother Ronald Madison, a 40-year-old with a severe mental handicap, was shot by New Orleans police officers on September 4, 2005 -- just six days after Hurricane Katrina.
Romell Madison, a prominent New Orleans dentist, was Ronald’s big brother.
"We're going to keep working to achieve justice not just for us, but for the city of New Orleans," said Romell Madison. "I don't think anyone wants to see that happen to their family."
A scathing summary of events just released by the U.S Attorney's Office chronicles a deep-rooted conspiracy by New Orleans police officers to cover up the shooting that killed Ronald Madison and 17-year-old James Barset, all while injuring four others, including a woman who lost her right arm.
Madison said they are “things that my family knew had happened, but no one would believe it because it was kind of covered up to the point [the officers] were celebrated as heroes."
The seven officers on the scene that day benefited from strong public support long after the shooting, even through their charges of murder and attempted murder. Those were later dismissed by the state because of what the judge called prosecutor errors.
Today the NOPD isn't saying much, except for Captain Henry Dean.
"I felt like I was kicked in the stomach this morning," said Dean.
Dean is president of Fraternal Order of Police, which represents more than 1,200 NOPD officers, close to 90 percent of the force.
"It's a sad state of affairs for the entire police department, but I'm very concerned about our officers -- whether they're young or old -- going out on the street and having their actions doubted because of repercussions of what happened today.”
Wednesday’s events brought a plea of guilty more than four years after the fact, all from the man FBI agents say helped lie about it all.
According to the feds, Ronald and his other brother Lance never fired at anyone. They attempted to cross the Danziger Bridge in hopes of getting to their brother's dentist office and that's when they took on gunfire from police officers.
"My speculation is that they were in the wrong place and witnessed something that they shouldn't have witnessed and to cover-up that up they had to be silenced," said Romell Madison.
Late Wednesday evening a spokesperson for the NODP told us Eyewitness News they have cooperated with the federal investigation and say they hope justice will prevail.
