Danziger Bridge - a photo on Flickriver

Danziger Bridge

            The Danziger bridge is the widest vertical lift bridge in the world. It was constructed from 1983 - 1987 opening to traffic in February 1988 officially replacing the old Danziger bridge. The old Danziger bridge was a draw bridge constructed in 1932 named after attorney Alfred Danziger. The bridge carries Chef Menteur Highway over the Industrial Canal from the Gentilly Neighborhood to New Orleans East. 

After Hurricane Katrina the Danziger Bridge was some of the only highground in the area and therefore attracted a large number of people looking to flee the flooded streets of Gentilly. Six days after Katrina made landfall, on the morning of September 4th, 2005 NOPD was responding to a call claiming that an officer was under fire on the bridge. Sgt. Kenneth Bowen, Sgt. Robert Gisevius, Officer Anthony Villavaso, and Officer Robert Faulcon arrived on scene in plain clothes driving a Budget rental truck. The officers were carrying rifles, one of which was unauthorized. Witnesses described the officers as lining up "like at a firing range". The Bartholomew family were walking across the bridge on their way to the grocery store when the officers opened fire, the family took cover behind a concrete barrier. Susan Bartholomew's arm was partially shot off and later had to be amputated. Her husband, Leonard, was shot in the back, head and foot. The Bartholomews' teenage daughter Lesha was shot four times. Jose Holmes Jr., a friend of Brissette's, was shot in the abdomen, the hand and the jaw. Brothers Ronald and Lance Madison fled the scene and were pursued by Gisevius and Faulcon who were driving an unmarked state police vehicle. Ronald, who was developmentally disabled would later die of his injuries, an autopsy report showed that he had been shot seven times, five of which were in the back. Lance was taken into custody and charged with eight counts of attempting to kill police officers. He was held in custody for three weeks before being released without indictment. All the victims involved in the shooting were African American. Both police and civilian witnesses attested to the fact that none of the victims on the bridge at the time were armed and no firearms were recovered at the scene. Later investigation revealed that the gunshots that triggered the incident were being fired in the area by people who were trapped and were trying to get the attention of rescuers. 

The officers claimed that while they were approaching the bridge that they were fired upon by civilians and therefore were forced to return fire. Homicide detective Arthur Kaufman was named the lead investigator of the case. Later it would come to light that Arthur was conspiring with the officers involved in the shooting to conceal evidence and make the shootings appear justified. This included fabricating information for his official reports on the case. Lieutenant Michael Lohman had encouraged the officers to "provide false stories about what had precipitated the shooting" and plant a firearm near the scene.  

The ensuing trial and indictment is way too lengthy for me to fully go into detail here but I highly suggest reading the Wikipedia article if you’d like to learn more about it, from what I can find the Wikipedia article has the most in depth and up to date account of everthing. All the info I’ve shared here I skimmed from the Wikipedia article and condensed down a bit. This incident has always stuck with me since I learned about it. A lot of awful stuff happened in the wake of hurricane Katrina but this incident in particular feels like it is one more people should know about. 

Kiev 60
Volna 3 80mm 2.8
Lomo CN 100

Taken on: January 9, 2022

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