Ex-cops go to prison in post-Katrina killing

NEW ORLEANS (AP)  A judge sentenced two former New Orleans police officers to prison Thursday for their roles in the shooting death of an unarmed man whose body was later set on fire in the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He called the crimes inexcusable and barbaric.

The 25-plus years David Warren received for shooting 31-year-old Henry Glover to death was the stiffest punishment so far in the Justice Department's investigations of post-Katrina police misconduct. Ex-officer Gregory McRae was sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for burning Glover's body after he was gunned down.

U.S. District Judge Lance Africk rejected the notion that the cases would deter officers in the future from staying after a storm to protect the public. When Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005, many officers fled the city, leaving the police department with depleted forces. The National Guard was eventually dispatched to help prevent looting and control much of the city.

Warren said he thought Glover had a gun and posed a threat when he shot him outside a police substation at a strip mall. The judge called his testimony absurd.

"Henry Glover was not at the strip mall to commit suicide. He was there to retrieve some baby clothing," Africk said. "You killed a man. Despite your tendentious arguments to the contrary, it was no mistake."

Prosecutors said Glover wasn't armed when Warren shot him in the back. A good Samaritan drove Glover's body to a police compound at a school. McRae commandeered the vehicle and set it on fire nearby.

"Your conduct was barbaric," Africk told McRae. "The devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina was made uglier by your disturbing actions. ... At a time when more was expected of you, you failed miserably."

Lawyers for the men argued they deserved some leniency, partly because of the horrific conditions and chaos following the hurricane.

Edna Glover, Henry's mother, said after the hearing that she was satisfied with the punishments. "I forgive these men because if I don't forgive them Jesus won't forgive me," she told the judge.

Warren, 48, told jurors at the trial late last year that he opened fire because he feared for his life. Warren was guarding a police substation at the strip mall when he said Glover and a friend pulled up in a stolen truck and started running toward a gate that would have given them access to the building.

Warren testified the men ignored his commands to stop and that he thought he saw a gun in Glover's hand before he fired one shot at him from a second-floor balcony.

His partner that day, Officer Linda Howard, testified Glover and Calloway weren't armed and didn't pose a threat.

Trial testimony showed that Glover and his friend were driving a truck stolen from a nearby business and had gone to the mall to retrieve a looted suitcase, but prosecutors said they were using the stolen items out of desperation so they could evacuate.

"Henry Glover was gunned down because you believed he was a looter," Africk told Warren.

McRae, 49, admitted he drove Glover's body from the makeshift police compound to a nearby Mississippi River levee in the good Samaritan's car and set it on fire. McRae said he burned the vehicle because he was weary of seeing rotting corpses after the storm. Another officer, however, testified he saw McRae laughing after he set the fire.

Jurors also convicted former Lt. Travis McCabe of writing a false report on the shooting. His sentencing has been postponed while his lawyers seek a new trial based on what they say is newly discovered evidence.

The jury cleared Lt. Dwayne Scheuermann of charges he burned Glover's body and beat one of the men who brought the dying Glover to the police compound in search of help after the Sept. 2, 2005, shooting. Robert Italiano, a retired police lieutenant, was acquitted of charges he submitted a false report on the shooting and lied to the FBI.

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