By A.C. Thompson, ProPublica
The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the Baton Rouge Police
Department’s actions in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, according
to the Baton Rouge Advocate. The newspaper says Alejandro Miyar, a
spokesperson for Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division,
acknowledged the probe on Thursday.
Word of the federal investigation follows reports
in the Advocate detailing allegations that Baton Rouge police
“routinely harassed black people, resorted to unnecessary violence and
conducted illegal searches in the days after Hurricane Katrina.” The
stories, based on complaints made by out-of-state police sent to
Louisiana to assist local officers, have been challenged by Baton Rouge
police officials.
The new probe further expands the Justice Department’s workload in the
state. Prosecutors are already examining a string of incidents in which
New Orleans Police Department officers
shot at least 10 civilians during the week after Katrina roared
ashore. Two former New Orleans cops recently pleaded guilty to federal
charges stemming from the shooting of six people on the Danziger
Bridge on Sept. 4, 2005.
With our partners at the New Orleans
Times-Picayune and PBS
“Frontline,” ProPublica scrutinized the NOPD in “Law & Disorder,” a
series of stories looking at the shootings of Matthew
McDonald, Keenon McCann
and Danny
Brumfield. Those shootings are among the incidents now being
investigated by the Justice Department.