...in **** of Hurricane Katrina
Five police officers on trial for 'shooting New Orleans looter and burning his body' in **** of Hurricane Katrina
* First of four cases of alleged police ********* in the **** of devastating hurricane
* Senior officers expected to testify over 'lawlessness' of New Orleans
Five police officers have gone on trial charged in the shooting of a man in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and burning his body to cover up the evidence.
Henry Glover was shot dead in the Algiers section of New Orleans on September 2, 2005. His charred remains were found days later in a burnt-out car near the Mississippi River.
The trial came after a federal investigation into several cases of alleged police ********* in the days after the hurricane, which ****** more than 1,800 people, flooded New Orleans and devastated much of the Gulf Coast.
******: Henry Glover, pictured with his ******** Nehemiah Short, was shot dead and his burned body was found near the Mississippi River in 2005
Former officer David Warren was guarding a detective bureau at a mall when the shooting occurred.
He is said to have opened fire on Mr Glover from a second floor balcony.
Officers Dwayne Scheuermann and Gregory McRae are charged with burning Mr Glover's body and his 2001 Chevrolet Malibu and with assaulting civilians who tried to come to his aid.
And Robert Italiano and Robert McCabe are charged with obstruction of justice for submitting a false and inaccurate incident report on the shooting.
A police report revealed that Warren fired at Mr Glover after he saw him approaching the police station with something in his hand.
Mr Glover is said to have driven to the mall with a friend to collect some stolen goods that had been left there.
Test case: Former officer David Warren was guarding a police station at a mall when he is alleged to have shot Mr Glover. Right, Dwayne Scheuermann is charged with burning his body and assaulting civilians who tried to help him
Greg McRae is also accused of burning Mr Glover's body and Robert McCabe, right, is charged with submitting a false report on the shooting along with Robert Italiano, below
After he was shot, the injured man was driven to a school by a stranger, along with his ******* Edward King.
It was there that the two men were allegedly assaulted by police officers, who then drove Mr Glover to the Algiers levee before setting fire to the car with his body inside.
Michael Ellis, defending Warren, said he blamed the incident on the chaos after Hurricane Katrina.
He told WDSU: 'Everybody was afraid of everything that transpired.
'Hopefully we'll get a jury that's going to listen to all the evidence presented and hear our client's position, as we think it was a justifiable shooting on his behalf.'
If convicted, Warren faces life in prison. Scheuermann and McRae could be jailed for up to 60 years and Italiano and McCabe for 30.
The case is the first resulting from the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division investigation into 'patterns or practices' of alleged misconduct within the New Orleans police department.
Federal prosecutors have charged 20 officers in four separate cases stemming from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Earlier this year, four officers were indicted on charges of ******* two men in an incident on Danziger Bridge.
A teenager and a 40-year-old disabled man were shot dead on the bridge on September 4, six days after the hurricane devastated the city.
Current officers - including some among top positions in New Orleans Police Department - are expected to testify in both cases on the breakdown in authority in the aftermath of the storm.
Devastation: Hurricane Katrina ****** more than 1,800 people and left most of New Orleans underwater
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...s-looter-Hurricane-Katrina.html#ixzz14uJQKCl4
