NEW ORLEANS — A former police officer convicted of orchestrating a cover-up of deadly shootings on a New Orleans bridge after Hurricane Katrina claims federal authorities waged a "secret public relations campaign" that deprived him of a fair trial.
On Friday, a lawyer for retired Sgt. Arthur Kaufman asked U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt to order a new trial.
On Friday, a lawyer for retired Sgt. Arthur Kaufman asked U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt to order a new trial.
Kaufman's attorneys claim leaks to the media about a grand jury's probe of the Danziger Bridge shootings inflamed public opinion against the officers charged in the case.
The attorney also claims prosecutors ignored a judge's call for an investigation after The Associated Press reported on Feb. 23, 2010, that former Lt. Michael Lohman was expected to plead guilty in the case the following day. The case against Lohman was sealed at the time.