NEW ORLEANS - According to sworn statements from former New Orleans Police Lt. Michael Lohman and former NOPD detective Jeffrey Lehrmann, they and others went to great lengths to cover up what really happened on the Danziger Bridge just days after Hurricane Katrina.
Two civilians were killed and four others seriously injured in two police-involved shootings on September 4, 2005.
Lohman and Lehrmann have already pleaded guilty in the case and have agreed to cooperate with federal investigators.
"Obviously, we're heading towards some indictments," said Steve London who represents Sgt. Arthur Kaufman, the detective that led the police probe of the shooting.
London admits his client received a letter notifying him that he is a target of the ongoing federal investigation into police activities during and after the Danziger incident.
London says if there was a cover-up, Kaufman was not part of it.
"Police arrive there and undisputed, and according to the government's witness, shots are fired," said London. "They have every right to believe those shots are being fired at them. They return fire. So, there is no need to cover anything up."
Kaufman is referred to as "the investigator" in federal accounts of the Danziger shooting.
According to Lehrmann's story, he and two NOPD sergeants traveled to Kaufman's house to retrieved a bag from a storage container in his garage.
When Lehrmann asked what was in the bag, according to the statements, Kaufman responded, "a ham sandwich."
Lehrmann indicated the sandwich was really a gun, later entered as evidence found under the bridge.
"How ridiculous would it be, if I'm going to attempt to cover something like that up, where I'm going to grab three individuals, who could potentially be three witnesses against me, one of whom only has a year on the job, drive to my house which isn't anywhere near where we're sitting right now, by the way, it takes a while to get there," said London. "Go into my garage and come out, that doesn't even make sense. It's a 'ham sandwich?' I think somebody's been watching too much television."
"I think this sort of activity occurs anytime you have a bad shooting or an incident taking place which shouldn't have taken place. They do what ever it takes to cover it up." said Gary Bizal an attorney who represents one of the civilians injured in the shooting.
Bizal says he expects the feds will soon bring charges against the original seven officers involved in the shooting and several others who investigated the incident.
"They were all involved in a conspiracy, so I think we're going to see all of them indicted at some point or another and maybe some of them plead guilty prior to being indicted," said Bizal.
Federal prosecutors have until this September, five years after the shootings, to bring felony charges against the officers.
