The short answer
On September 4, 2005, six days after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans Police Department officers shot six unarmed African-American civilians on the Danziger Bridge, killing James Brissette, 17, and Ronald Madison, a mentally disabled 40-year-old.
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Suggest coverage for Danziger Bridge shootingsOn the morning of September 4, 2005, six days after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) officers responded to a report of an officer under fire and opened fire on unarmed civilians at the Danziger Bridge. James Brissette, 17, was killed, and four members of the Bartholomew family and their friend Jose Holmes Jr. were wounded. Two brothers, Ronald and Lance Madison, fled the scene; officers pursued them, and Ronald Madison, a developmentally disabled 40-year-old, was fatally shot in the back. All six victims were African-American, unarmed, and had not committed any crime. No weapons were recovered at the scene.
The NOPD initially claimed officers had been fired upon by civilians and returned fire in self-defense. Lead investigator Detective Arthur "Archie" Kaufman was later found to have fabricated reports to support this narrative, and NOPD Lieutenant Michael Lohman encouraged officers to provide false accounts and plant a weapon near the scene. Lance Madison was held in custody for three weeks on charges of attempting to kill police officers before being released without indictment.
Officers involved in the shooting were arrested and indicted for murder and attempted murder in January 2007, but those indictments were dismissed in 2008 due to prosecutorial misconduct. The FBI and the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division subsequently opened a federal investigation. Beginning in 2010, several officers pleaded guilty to obstruction-related charges and cooperated with prosecutors, including Lohman, Jeffrey Lehrmann, Michael Hunter, Robert Barrios, and Ignatius Hills.
In July 2010, a federal grand jury indicted Sgt. Kenneth Bowen, Sgt. Robert Gisevius, Officer Anthony Villavaso, and Officer Robert Faulcon in connection with the shooting and cover-up, along with Kaufman and Gerard Dugue for their roles in falsifying reports. On August 5, 2011, a federal jury convicted Bowen, Gisevius, Villavaso, Faulcon, and Kaufman on charges related to civil rights deprivation and the cover-up. In April 2012, Faulcon was sentenced to 65 years, Bowen and Gisevius to 40 years, Villavaso to 38 years, and Kaufman to six years.
The convictions were vacated on September 17, 2013, by U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt after it emerged that federal prosecutors, including Sal Perricone and Karla Dobinski, had anonymously posted online comments about the case, constituting prosecutorial misconduct. A federal appeals court upheld the decision to order a new trial. On April 20, 2016, the five former officers pleaded guilty to reduced charges, including deprivation of rights under color of law and obstruction of justice, receiving sentences of three to twelve years with credit for time served. Dugue later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor accessory charge in November 2016, receiving one year of probation.
Civil lawsuits filed by victims' families against the City of New Orleans, the NOPD, and other officials were settled in December 2016 for a total of $13.3 million, alongside settlements in two related Katrina-era cases. Mayor Mitch Landrieu issued a public apology to the victims' families as part of the settlement announcement.
NOPD officers shoot six unarmed civilians at the Danziger Bridge, killing James Brissette and fatally wounding Ronald Madison.
Officers involved in the shooting are taken into custody and indicted for murder and attempted murder.
District Judge Raymond Bigelow dismisses the indictments due to prosecutorial misconduct.
Michael Lohman pleads guilty to obstruction of justice.
Jeffrey Lehrmann pleads guilty to misprision of a felony.
Michael Hunter pleads guilty to misprision of a felony and obstruction of justice.
Robert Barrios is charged with conspiring to obstruct justice.
Barrios and Marion David Ryder plead guilty.
Ignatius Hills is charged with conspiring to obstruct justice and misprision of a felony.
A federal grand jury indicts Bowen, Gisevius, Faulcon, and Villavaso for the shooting and cover-up; Kaufman and Dugue are charged with falsifying reports.
Lehrmann is sentenced to three years in prison.
Hunter is sentenced to eight years in prison.
A federal jury convicts Bowen, Gisevius, Villavaso, Faulcon, and Kaufman.
Ryder is sentenced to eight months in prison.
Hills is sentenced to 6.5 years in prison.
Lohman is sentenced to four years in prison.
Barrios is sentenced to five years in prison.
Judge Kurt Engelhardt sentences Faulcon to 65 years, Bowen and Gisevius to 40 years, Villavaso to 38 years, and Kaufman to six years.
The five convicted officers appeal, citing prosecutorial misconduct involving anonymous online comments.
Judge Engelhardt vacates the convictions and orders a new trial.
The five former officers plead guilty to reduced charges and receive sentences of three to twelve years.
Gerard Dugue pleads guilty to a misdemeanor accessory charge and is sentenced to one year of probation.
Mayor Mitch Landrieu announces a $13.3 million settlement of civil lawsuits and issues a public apology to victims' families.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
17-year-old fatally shot by NOPD officers at the Danziger Bridge on September 4, 2005.[3]
Friend of James Brissette, shot in the abdomen, hand, and jaw.[3]
Wounded, shot in the back, head, and foot.[3]
Teenage daughter of the Bartholomew family, shot four times.[3]
40-year-old developmentally disabled man fatally shot in the back by NOPD officers while fleeing the bridge.[3]
Wounded in the shooting; her arm was partially shot off and later amputated.[3]
NOPD officer convicted in 2011 of charges related to the shooting and cover-up; convictions vacated in 2013; pleaded guilty to reduced charges in 2016.[3]
NOPD homicide detective and lead investigator convicted in 2011 of conspiring to cover up the shootings; convictions vacated in 2013; pleaded guilty to reduced charges in 2016.[3]
Original NOPD investigator charged with falsifying reports; pleaded guilty in 2016 to a misdemeanor accessory charge and received one year probation.[3]
Former NOPD officer charged and pleaded guilty related to conspiring to obstruct justice and misprision of a felony.[3]
Former NOPD officer who pleaded guilty in 2010 to misprision of a felony.[3]
NOPD sergeant convicted in 2011 of charges related to the shooting and cover-up; convictions vacated in 2013; pleaded guilty to reduced charges in 2016.[3]
Civilian witness who falsely presented himself as an armed law enforcement officer and pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and a gun charge.[3]
Former NOPD officer originally charged with attempted murder; pleaded guilty in 2010 to misprision of a felony and obstruction of justice, and became a key prosecution witness.[3]
NOPD lieutenant who pleaded guilty in 2010 to obstruction of justice for encouraging officers to give false accounts.[3]
Former NOPD officer charged and pleaded guilty in 2010 to conspiring to obstruct justice.[3]
NOPD officer convicted in 2011 of the first-degree murder-related civil rights charge for shooting Ronald Madison; convictions vacated in 2013; pleaded guilty to reduced charges in 2016.[3]
NOPD sergeant convicted in 2011 of charges related to the shooting and cover-up; convictions vacated in 2013; pleaded guilty to reduced charges in 2016.[3]
Brother of Ronald Madison; charged with eight counts of attempting to kill police officers, held for three weeks, and released without indictment.[3]
From the record
Coverage is not a source: every fact in this file rests on the records below.
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UNSOLVEDListenKokrajhar, Sonitpur, and Chirang districts, Assam, India · 2014
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Four University of Idaho students—Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, and Xana Kernodle—were fatally stabbed inside an off-campus house in Moscow, Idaho, in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022. Bryan Kohberger, a criminology PhD student at nearby Washington State University, was arrested that December and pleaded guilty in 2025, receiving four consecutive life sentences.
