@NOLAnews, Frontline, and Pro Publica join the Danziger NOPD defense team

The current and former NOPD officers facing the possibility of a death penalty trial in federal court got a boost this morning as "team reporting" from Da Paper, Frontline, and Pro Publica made a significant contribution towards softening up the jury pool with a front-page article documenting the chaos in the NOPD command structure in the early post-K days:

In one instance captured on a grainy videotape shot by a member of the force, a police captain relayed the instructions at morning roll call to cops preparing for the day's patrols.

"We have authority by martial law to shoot looters," Capt. James Scott told a few dozen officers in a portion of the tape viewed by reporters. Scott, then the commander of the 1st District, is now captain of the special operations division.

You can bet that videotape will be introduced at trial. No doubt, they'll put these officers on the stand, as well:

Another police captain, Harry Mendoza, told federal prosecutors last month that he was ordered by Warren Riley, then the department's second-in-command, to "take the city back and shoot looters.'' A lieutenant who worked for Mendoza, Mike Cahn III, said he remembered the scene similarly and would testify about it under oath if asked.

Mendoza and Cahn said in separate interviews that Riley made the remarks at a meeting at Harrah's New Orleans Casino, where police had established a command post. Mendoza quoted Riley as saying: "If you can sleep with it, do it,'' according to a document prepared by prosecutors and provided to lawyers defending police officers recently charged with federal offenses.

You can almost hear the opening arguments for the defense now: "martial law" imposed in an area reduced to anarchy, looters cleaning out businesses of more than just survival necessities, NOPD officers who considered their lives to be in danger everytime they hit the street. This is the sort of confusion that requires quick reaction for survival. Mistakes were made, tragic ones in some circumstances. Now a biased federal Department of Justice is taking draconian measures to punish men who were put in untenable situations by their commanders.

And what of those commanders and the subsequent cover-ups? They realized the damage their orders had done to the lives and careers of the men they sent out into the field in those days of anarchy and lawlessness. Doctoring reports and clearing incidents was the least they could do to help make things right. Yes, they're taking their lumps now, manning up, taking the federal bullet for their brother officers.

Not buying it? It's not being sold to you, but rather to the pool of potential jurors from the SE District of Louisiana. This pool of registered voters includes the 56% that don't think David Vitter is less a Christian because he frequented prostitutes. The jury pool for this trial includes Jefferson Parish, whose 24th JDC criminal juries would give the death penalty to minority defendants for check-kiting if offered the chance.

The pool of potential jurors for the Danziger case will be very sympathetic to the arguments of the defense. They are, for the most part, white property owners. They are overwhelmingly Republican, and very pro-law enforcement. When presented with an opportunity to strike back at the heavy black hand of Hussein Kenyatta Obama's DoJ, they'll do what they can to help the heroes who protected their lives and property as the flood waters receded.

This case is no where near as cut and dry as the indictment period suggested.