NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A former police detective testified Monday that he participated in a plot to fabricate witnesses, falsify reports and plant a gun to make it seem police were justified in shooting unarmed residents on a New Orleans bridge after Hurricane Katrina.Jeffrey Lehrmann, a government witness in the federal trial of five current or former officers, said he saw Sgt. Arthur "Archie" Kaufman retrieve a gun from his home several weeks after the deadly shootings on the Danziger Bridge. Kaufman later turned the gun in as evidence, claiming he found it under the bridge a day after the 2005 shootings that left two people dead and four others wounded. Lehrmann said Kaufman instructed him to fill out paperwork that claimed the gun belonged to Lance Madison, whose mentally disabled brother, Ronald, was shot and killed on the bridge. Lance Madison was arrested on attempted murder charges and held for more than three weeks before a judge freed him. Lehrmann said Kaufman, his supervisor, had grown concerned because the judge who freed Madison didn't believe Kaufman's testimony at the hearing. "Therefore, we needed a gun," Lehrmann said. Lehrmann said Sgts. Robert Gisevius and Kenneth Bowen joined him and Kaufman when they drove to Kaufman's house to retrieve a gun. Kaufman emerged from his garage carrying the gun in a brown paper bag, calling it a "ham sandwich," Lehrmann said. Kaufman's attorney, Stephen London, suggested during cross-examination that Lehrmann was trying to shift blame to his client and has changed his story over time. Lehrmann accused London of "nitpicking," while London chided Lehrmann for smiling during his testimony. "My client is on trial. Is that funny?" London asked. "No, it's not funny at all," he responded. On Sept. 4, 2005, Lehrmann drove himself to the Danziger Bridge after a truckload of officers responded to another officer's distress call and began shooting. He isn't accused of firing his gun that day. Lehrmann said he handcuffed Ronald Madison on the west side of the bridge after he was shot, then felt badly about it when another officer told him he already was dead. Lehrmann said the officers immediately afterward started to "get their stories straight." "We had a lot of problems because it was a bad shoot," he said. "What was the goal of the cover-up?" prosecutor Cindy Chung asked. "Protect the officers from legal ramifications," he said. Lehrmann said he helped Kaufman with an initial, 32-page report that was bounced back by Lt. Michael Lohman, who also has pleaded guilty to participating in a cover-up. "Lt. Lohman became irate with Archie because he thought Archie's report was garbage," Lehrmann recalled. Lehrmann said the false accounts of what officers did on the bridge continually changed as they honed their cover story. "The lies changed whenever we needed to change them," he said. Lehrmann said he made up the name "Lakeisha" for a phony witness to the shootings when Kaufman called out, "Hey, somebody give me a name!" He said they also fabricated a witness named "James Youngman" and reported he lived at a large, storm-damaged apartment complex where it would be hard to prove the witness didn't exist. Weeks after the shooting, Lehrmann said he and Bowen returned to the bridge a day before crime scene technicians were to collect evidence. Lehrmann said he saw Bowen kick shell casings off the bridge where police shot several people. Gisevius, Bowen, Officer Anthony Villavaso and former officer Robert Faulcon are on trial for charges stemming from the shootings. Kaufman is charged in the alleged cover-up. Lehrmann, who already has been sentenced to three years in prison, is one of five former officers who pleaded guilty to participating in a cover-up. He is the fourth of those officers to testify at the trial, now entering its third week. Ex-cop says he helped cover up Katrina shootings - Yahoo! News
Humans make mistakes. Some have evil in their hearts and may well burn in hell. Other's, are a product of the specific circumstances. In my opinion, God will judge all of us sooner or later. Some will get a pass for their misdeeds, others won't. Lying doesn't help nor does several other factors listed one way or the other in the 10 commandments. . Consider Mai Lia, Ruby ridge, Wounded Knee, Bonus Army incident, Kent State, and many more. . It's good that the truth seems to have finally come out in this case. Yes, these officers should be punished as society decrees. . This should not paint all police officers with a broad brush as bad. Far from it. The vast majority of the police are good, just as are the vast majority of all humans. It should make the police officers themselves open their eyes to what they should have known all along. Police officers are not gods. They cannot walk on water. They make mistakes just like perps or anyone else. Maybe every now and then the Police should themselves read the Constitution, apply a little common sense, and maybe question orders that strike them as not quite feeling right. . Every misdeed that occurs on this earth is not going to see the truth of light and be judged right or wrong to your satisfaction. Eventually we will all be judged for our actions as well as what is in our hearts and minds. jmho of course.
Late justice is better than justice denied, but it doesn't bring back dead loved ones. Lets hope 'society' does it's job with the miscreants. It's bad when cops go to prison - the other inmates see them as targets. But we depend on our LEO's to protect us. This type of 'mistake' needs to be punished to the lawful extreme.
I'm glad the one cop turned them over. I used to believe what I was told about Kent State. Kent State tape indicates altercation and pistol fire preceded National Guard shootings (audio) | cleveland.com
I have no idea how old you are, but I am from Ohio and I was born in 1950. I remember the shootings at Kent State quite clearly. Altercation or not, and pistol shot or not. National Guard troops shooting indiscrimately and killing 4 unarmed student protesters is unacceptable. I also was at Kent State one week after the shootings. I wasn't told about Kent State years later, I lived close and was saturated with news stories and first hand accounts of all sorts. Believe whatever spin you want, I have my own well founded opinion. jmho
One final word to all the Leos reading this. I respect the uniform and the badge as long as you show me some respect as well. Come at me like a storm trooper when I have done nothing wrong, and you will make an enemy out of me. I will eyeball you hard and note your face, your badge number, your patrol unit, and will get even or well ahead. Karma sucks as do storm troopers. Act with human kindness and compassion, and receive the same.
It is good to have the truth, that's why I posted this thread,I wouldn't want this to happen during a SHTF in my AO. I too have high respect for our LEOs and expect the same respect from them when dealing with me or others.
It is all opinion until someone presents facts. Someone finally listened to the tape and something new was found. Potentially the most interesting cold case file ever. A crowd of innocents facing guys with guns; mostly likely a few quick shots from an animal would get the response he/she/it wanted. Or this photographer with a revolver? There have been books/papers etc written about the affects of Kent State on America. Where we differ is I trust neither side here and I am not speaking of the innocent young people. If my age is relevant to the discussion; I fought in fought in Vietnam.
Interesting transcript, report or whatever. As I read it these things (facts) jumped out at me. . 1. photographer(student) with gas mask working for the FBI, armed with a 5 shot .38 revolver claims to have fired 4 shots to scare protesters who objected to him taking pictures of them. . 2. photographer(student) in FBI employ flees to police and guard lines with two protesters in pursuit. . 3. photographer(student) in FBI employ, turns over his revolver to Cleveland Police Officer who examines weapon and exclaims that 4 rounds have been fired. . 4. before this can be relayed thru channels Guard opens fire without real provocation on Unarmed protesters killing 4 and injuring 9 others. . 5. 38 revolver disappears, Cleveland Police officer recants statement that it had been fired. Logs state gun had not been fired. How convienent. Typical coverup to cover ones azz at the time ...... just like Katrina! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And this changes your opinion of the Kent State Shootings how?
The Russians have a word maskirovka ("mas-kir-OAF-ka") which applies here. Few deceptions have the magnitude than if Kent State was instigated by one radical leftist or one ultra - uber alles person. It would change American History; a Katrina class maskirovka. Stuart Allen is a forensic "expert" Forensic audio experts Allen and Owen have had long, interesting careers deciphering the sounds of crime | cleveland.com If someone did shoot from in the crowd; imo, they need to pay for what they did. I don't care which side they were on or how many years it has been. AFA, opinions changing if the NG was fired on that will be up to each individual to decide.
