NEW ORLEANS -- Mayor-elect Mitch Landrieu saw violent crime as such a drag on this city's long, painful recovery from Hurricane Katrina that he made law enforcement a cornerstone of his campaign to replace term-limited Mayor Ray Nagin.
Now, as Landrieu faces one of his most pressing tasks, choosing a police chief, he must also deal with a blossoming police scandal the likes of which the city hasn't seen in years. On Wednesday, a recently retired police lieutenant pleaded guilty to helping cover up the police shootings of two unarmed people and the wounding of four others at the Danziger Bridge days after Katrina.
What U.S. Attorney Jim Letten called "a pretty elaborate and ongoing conspiracy" appears to be unraveling as Landrieu, who declined comment through his transition office, prepares to take office in May.
Rafael Goyeneche, head of an independent police watchdog group, said the scandal makes it all but certain the task force Landrieu assembled to search for a new chief will seek someone from outside the department.
"I think there is going to be a terrible price to pay as far as the police department rebuilding the trust of the community," said Goyeneche, director of the Metropolitan Crime Commission.
Former Lt. Michael Lohman's guilty plea was a jarring reminder of the turmoil that engulfed the city after Katrina struck in August 2005.
And it came at a time the city was riding a rare emotional high: The long-suffering Saints won the Super Bowl on Feb. 7, adding unprecedented euphoria to the revelry of Mardi Gras. Landrieu's election the night before the Super Bowl, with broad biracial support in a city where racially divisive politics have long been
the norm, added to the good feeling.
Billions of federal dollars have been poured into New Orleans since 2005 to help rebuild neighborhoods and flood protection.
Crime, however, remains an unhappy underpinning.
"There is no doubt in my mind that crime and the perception that New Orleans is not safe is the biggest detriment to our recovery," said Jay Lapare, former chairman of New Orleans Crime Coalition, a business-civic coalition formed after Hurricane Katrina.
Looting was rampant in the days after the storm as thousands tried to survive in or escape the flooding city. As New Orleans re-populated in 2006, violent crime returned as well. The June 2006 murder of five teenagers in a single bloody shooting prompted then-Gov. Kathleen Blanco to call in National Guard troops and
state police to aid the city's beleagured police department.
Current chief Warren Riley took over the department weeks after the storm and last year announced plans to step down after Landrieu takes office. He has long defended the department and notes improving crime statistics. Overall violent crime was down in 2009 from the previous year and homicides dropped from 179 to 174.
But Lapare said a survey done by his group in December showed only about a third of respondents approved of police efforts to combat crime. And stories of shooting deaths remain a regular fixture on evening newscasts.
Now, Lohman's guilty plea has revived the once-dormant case of the so-called Danziger Seven: the police officers implicated in the post-Katrina shootings of six unarmed people at the Danziger bridge. Police at the time insisted they had been shot at, but Lohman admitted participating in a cover-up that included planting
a gun at the scene to help justify the shooting.
State charges of murder and attempted murder were eventually thrown out against the Danziger suspects but Letten stressed Wednesday that the federal investigation continues.
The scandal points to the difficulties Landrieu will face in choosing a new chief and rebuilding confidence in the department.
"Just bringing in a new police chief from outside the current system is not enough," said Maki Haberfeld, professor of police science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
The department must make major internal changes, implement monitoring and accountabilty, establish a zero-tolerance policy for misconduct, and put a training program in place that teaches adherence to law and truth, Haberfeld said.
Ken Foster, co-founder of the citizens' anti-crime group Silence is Violence, said the Danziger case also holds potential benefits.
"I think it's a good thing because I think it's finally shaking out all the skeletons," Foster said. "Even though there's a huge, difficult job ahead for the mayor and for whoever the new superintendent that comes is, I think it will make it easier that all of this stuff has come out and been dealt with."
Meanwhile, the break in the Danziger case comes as bittersweet validation for some.
"It's an indication that I think corruption in the police department is systemic," said former District Attorney Eddie Jordan.
Jordan is a former U.S. attorney who prosecuted New Orleans police during earlier scandals in the 1990s -- including the conviction of a police officer who arranged the murder of a woman who filed a brutality complaint. Later, as the city's elected district attorney, Jordan presided over the unsuccessful state prosecution of the Danziger suspects.
"I believe there was a cover-up at the time, and I believe it goes very high up at the police department," he said.
Mary Howell, who represents the family of one of the Danziger victims, said the Lohman plea was a long time coming.
"This is what people tell us all the time. They'll come forward and say 'I was falsely accused, evidence was planted."' Howell said. "And unfortunately, often times, if they are telling the truth, no one believes them."
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
