For most, it's just a bridge. People pass freely without paying a dime. But in the chaos post Katrina, Ronald Madison, a 40-year-old man with a severe mental disability, paid with his life while trying to walk across to the west end of the Danziger Bridge, killed at the hands of New Orleans Police officers.
In federal court on Tuesday, six more current and former New Orleans Police officers were charged in connection with the deadly shootings atop the Danziger Bridge, just 6 days after Hurricane Katina. Officers shot six people - wounding four and killing two others.
While two of the officers now in custody were not among those who were present or involved in the actual shootings, they were supervisors who are now accused of covering up what really happened. Archie Kauffman could face 120 years in prison if convicted and Gerard Dugue could face 70 years.
The remaining four officers are among the group of cops known as the 'Danziger Seven,' who are accused of playing a role in the deadly shootings. Officers Kenneth Bowen, Robert Gisevius, Robert Faulcon, and Anthony Villavaso are now in custody and could face the death penalty.
"I don't want to see anyone executed, but I guess I have to keep in mind that they executed my brother," saidand Romell Madison, Ronald's older brother. "I just have mixed feelings about it.
And so Romell Madison, a prominent dentist in New Orleans, remains torn on the future fate of his little brother's accused killers. After Ronald was shot, officers then arrested his other brother Lance who also there on the bridge that day. He remained in custody for three weeks facing attempted murder charges against police, but a weapon was never found, and the charges never officially filed. Today, he's still coping.
"He has a large distrust of people he would have counted on before," said Romell Madison.
The federal government's investigation has now reached each of the Danziger Seven….
The other 3 officers previously pleaded guilty in connection to the shootings.
"That's an indication that those officers agreed to cooperate with the federal government," said Rafael Goyeneche, head of the Metropolitan Crime Commission.
Goyenche says the NOPD's Public Integrity Bureau should be watching the Danziger case closely. Evidence could come out in court, he says, that could prove wrong doing by other officers. Perhaps not criminal, but enough to take notice and see to it they aren't promoted within the ranks of the department.
"There may be some officers rather than by acts of commission, maybe committed acts of omission and didn't properly supervise their subordinates," said Goyeneche.
At the request of New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landreiu, the Department of Justice is now assessing quality controls within the NOPD. New Orleans Police Monitor Susan Hutson, just over 30 days on the job, is working alongside the federal government,
"One of things that they're going to look at very closely is supervisory accountability, there was a failure of that in Danziger,” said Hutson. “Supervisors were not holding the rank and file accountable for their actions and weren’t actually leading in these cases, instead they…alleged to help cover up those things.”
And the fear and frustration still remains in neighborhoods throughout the city, especially those whose backyards were essentially the crime scene. Bertha Delonde, a Gentilly resident, lives just blocks from the bridge. The cover-up by officers hits home for her in so many ways.
"They put a lot of doubt in people's minds," said Delonde. "They put doubt in my mind about the police officers because if they did that to those people, what they are going to do to us."
