Monday, February 15, 2010

New Evidence in Post-Katrina Police Shootings of Unarmed Civilians

In a news report that was almost buried by Carnival weekend, the Times-Picayune revealed new information on Saturday about the federal investigations of police shootings of civilians in the days after Katrina.

According to the Times-Picayune article, which was written with ProPublica reporter A.C. Thompson, investigators believe they have found out who killed Henry Glover, an unarmed father of four.

Former N.O. police officer David Warren has been identified as the shooter. According to the article,

[Warren] was an unconventional rookie: He joined the force mid-career and holds several degrees, including a master's of business administration degree from the University of Wisconsin... His resume also states he has worked in the armed services, and participated in "use of force and threat assessment" training at the Lethal Force Institute Inc. At the NOPD's graduation for his recruit class, Warren was honored with a precision shooting award for having the highest cumulative score during firearms training.
The article also identifies Capt. Jeff Winn and Lt. Dwayne Scheuermann, leaders of the NOPD SWAT unit, as the officers who apparently took the car containing Glover and burned the car, with Glover in the back seat. According to video evidence in the investigation, a skull that appears to be Glovers had two holes in it, indicating that sometime after Glover was seized by police and before his body was taken to the coroners office, he was shot twice in the head.

We hope that federal investigators, as well as the local media, stay on top of this crucial story.

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