NOPD cops shot civilians, testilied, were tried and acquitted, then nabbed by Feds

Yesterday, the federal government indicted four [New Orleans] officers in the shooting deaths of two unarmed civilians on September 4, 2005.

Kevin Perkins, assistant director of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division said, "These police officers to oaths to protect the citizens of New Orleans. And, instead, as alleged in the indictment, they killed two people and wounded four others.

Watch the whole thing.

They are charged with federal civil rights violations and using weapons in the commission of a crime. Convictions could carry the death penalty. Three of those officers pled not guilty today. Two other officers were charged with obstructing justice by trying to cover up the crime and making it appear that the shootings were justified.

At the time, the police department said the officers had shot in self-defense.

The current New Orleans police chief, Ronal Serpas, has expressed deep dismay, especially about the alleged cover-up.

There are additional probes under way into the shootings and killings of other civilians at the time of Hurricane Katrina, including Henry Glover. He was found shot, then incinerated in a car just a few hundred feet from a police station. Five officers were indicted last month in his death.

Much more at Frontline here.