it's clear that danziger bridge won't be the only black eye for the department.ave already been filed against officers accused of other crimes. >> the new orleans police department, on the eve of katrina, was the worst in the country. you got what you expect when you have a corrupt police department. >> i'm doing my job. >> cops stealing cars, taking advantage of the situation, loads of police just abandoning the city. >> immediately after katrina, just great acts of heroism and stuff that was mind-numbingly painful to watch. it's not katrina that caused nopd to be like it was. it just manifests the dysfunction. katrina didn't cause new orleans' problem. it just made everything that we had much clearer. >> many police officers worked hard to secure the city and rescue survivors during the storm and the aftermath. but more than 200 overwhelmed nopd officers deserted their posts while others did little to help their desperate fellow citizens. >> can you do anything to help these people? >> we have people coming and helping, sir. >> who's coming? >> five years after

one of the darkest chapters from hurricane katrina was an incident that became known as the danzigergs. two people were killed and four wounded by armed men who turned out to be new orleans police officers. on friday, five of those former officers were found guilty on 25 counts of civil rights violations. but not of murder. just a short time ago, i spoke with the mother of one of those who was killed on the danziger bridge. he was 17-year-old james brissette. as you're about to see and hear, she does not believe justice has been served. >> i am very hurt. i am very hurt by this decision. by this jury's decision. j.j. was my baby. he was my baby. he was very quiet. he was very passive. he grew up in a home with no cussing, fussing, fighting. he didn't hear none of that. so our home life was very quiet. you know, no step parents over, none of that, you know. so that's why he didn't know anything about fighting and all. i'm in a courtroom and i'm looking at this picture where my child is as far against trying to get under the bridge for protection, as far as he could. these officers lea

the jury in new orleans reached a verdict in the post-katrina danziger bridge.fficers convicted of civil violations of unarmed men. we're keeping an eye on the markets one day after the dow plunged more than 500 points. the new unemployment report shows hiring picked up slightly. we'll get this processed. president obama says things will get better when? we'll talk about it. "news nation" is moments away. well-being. we're all striving for it. purina cat chow helps you nurture it in your cat with a full family of excellent nutrition and helpful resources. purina cat chow. share a better life. >>> welcome to "news nation." we're following breaking news right now. a new orleans jury has just convicted five current and former police officers in connection with a deadly shooting after hurricane katrina. an nbc news camera crew captured the video of the incident on the danziger bridge. the shooting happened less than a week after the storm in 2005. six unarmed people were shot, two were killed, and of the five officers convicted today, four were convicted of civil ri

less than a week after they killed two on danziger bridge. officers say they were fired upon first. one of the officers was only charged with a coverup and the other four face possible life sentences. >>> police say a car driven by an 84-year-old woman smashed through a bank in vallejo. it happened on tennessee and amador street. there were 20 people in the bank at the time of the accident. one person was seriously hurt two others suffered minor injuries. >> the other drivers mistakenly put her foot on the gas instead of the break. again she is 84 years old so she was confused. she crashed through the doors into a pillar. >> police are deciding whether to file charges against the 84- year-old drivers and it is -- driver and it is possible they will press charges. >>> they are asking them to boycott the ring willing brothers circus. they will stop in oakland and the head of peninsular humane society called it an outdated form of entertainment. humane officials will check on the animals while they are in town to make sure they are not being mis

of my family, i may still be in prison on false charges and the truth about what happened on the danzigerridge might never have been known. >> woodruff: the trial was a high-profile test of the justice department's effort to clean up a police department marred by a reputation for corruption and brutality. a total of 20 current or former new orleans police officers were charged last year in a series of federal probes. most of the cases center on actions during the aftermath of the storm which plunged the city into a state of lawlessness. two cases that have already gone to trial. jim letten is the u.s. attorney for louisiana's eastern district. >> today's verdict sends powerful, unmistakable message to public servants to law enforcement officers and to citizens served and to world. that message is that public officials and especially law enforcement will be held accountable for acts and that any abuse of power, especially that power that violates rights and civil liberties will have serious consequences. >> woodruff: sentencing is set for december 14. and for more about the case and the in

hurricane katrina, when two unarmed civilians were killed and four seriously wounded in the chaos of the danziger bridge. the officers were convicted of the unjustified shooting of civilians, and of orchestrating a massive cover-up afterwards. >>> some chilling videotape is out tonight, a brazen shooting on a philadelphia bus full of passengers. there apparently had been an argument on the bus between two passengers, one called her friends and as a surveillance tape made public in court shows, her friends appear to open fire and the bus driver then did his best to get away as quickly as possible. miraculously nobody was injured. >>> the space shuttle program may be over, but nasa is still sending rockets into the final frontier. the unmanned juno spacecraft blasted off from cape canaveral air force station today on its way to jupiter. it will be a long trip, 400 million miles, and juno is expected to settle into jupiter's orbit in july 2016 to study the huge planet's structure, magnetic field and atmosphere. >>> and this may look like something from another planet but it is hawaii's kilauea volca

her 17-year-old son, james brissette, was on the danziger bridge looking for food when he and five other unarmed people were confronted by police. the officers claimed they were responding to a report gunmen were shooting from a bridge. the police opened fire as soon as they arrived. brissette was shot nearly a dozen times. he and another man were killed. the officers then covered it up, falsified report, and planted a gun at the scene. >> the citizens of this country will not, should not-- and we intend that they will never-- have to fear the individuals who are called upon to protect them. >> reporter: the bridge shooting became a symbol of police abuse in the chaos following hurricane katrina. ronal serpas is the new chief of police in new orleans. >> it's clear that our department failed in some critical ways in the post- katrina environment. >> reporter: serpas is now working with the u.s. justice department to reform a police force that had become notorious for corruption. >> our department as a whole has continued to provide an excellent service but this is a damaging moment. this

jury in the slaying of two on our men and the wounding of four others who were trying to cross the danziger bridge after hurricane katrina tore through the city a fifth officer was found guilty of a cover up both the gun and false witnesses were planted in an attempt to absolve the officers of their crimes against the people of new orleans finally some justice and a larger tragedy that still has far too many crimes to answer for and many at the hands of the state but there is no justice for mr fiddlesticks not the police it should come as no surprise that they can jail you for that too now and read in washington the local police have decided to celebrate their disdain for the first amendment by sticking an anonymous cartoonist they're calling him that i use it loosely here as you can see with arbitrary trunked up charges of cyber stalking you see they didn't much like that in extra normal account mr fiddlesticks had been creating videos not in the misbehavior of the police department's abuse corruption and sexual misconduct so this was the result mr phillips appears to have acknowledged the

. >>> back in this country, a verdict in the controversial shootings case of the danziger bridge in new orleans. four former officers and another were found guilty of depriving of their rights and civil rights violations. two men were shot in the aftermath of hurricane katrina. four others wounded. the families of the victims welcome the verdict. >>> the fbi is searching for three florida siblings. they're accused of shooting at a police officer during a high-speed chase near tampa and robbing a bank in jork a machine gun. the two brothers and a sister are all in their early 20s. police say they sent an ominous text to their mom saying, there is a time for all of us to die. >>> polygamist sect leader warren jeffs is back in court today for the penalty phase of his trial. he faces up to life in prison after being found guilty of sexual assault. the 12 and 15-year-olds were called, his so-called spiritual wives. >>> 31 american troops are dead in a military helicopter crash in afghanistan. we've confirmed several new details. cnn's pentagon correspondent joins me live. ♪ [ female announce

it became known as the danziger bridge killings. two were killed, four wounded by officers.ay five former officers were found guilty on 25 counts of civil rights violations but not of murder. i spoke to the mother of 17-year-old james brizette. she does not believe justice was served. >> i am very hurt. i am very hurt by this jury's decision. j.j. was my baby. he was very quiet. he was very passive. he grew up in a home with no cussing, fussing, fighting. he didn't hear none of that. so our home life was very quiet. you know, no step-parents, none of that. so that's why he didn't know anything about fighting. he didn't know nothing about that. i'm in the courtroom. i'm looking at this picture where my child is trying to get under the bridge for protection as far as he could. these officers leaned over the railing and sprayed my child with bullets. my child was in pieces. the part that hurts me is that after six years, all this hard work and investigation, they're guilty for everything except the fact that james wasn't murdered, he was just shot to death. what? i am sitting i

. >>> five former or current police officers have been convicted in the danziger bridge in the aftermathf hurricane katrina. they were found guilty of civil rights violations. after the break i will speak to the mother of one man shot and killed on that bridge. it's a necessity. i find investments with e-trade's top 5 lists. quickly. easily. i use pre-defined screeners and insightful trading ideas to dig deeper. work smarter. not harder. i depend on myself the one person i do trust to take charge of my financial future. [ bell dinging ] [ bedistracted driving. ♪ [ disco ] it accounts for 25% of car crashes. and it's why the best agents help safe drivers get a lower rate. - exactly. - oh! [ announcer ] we are insurance. ♪ we are farmers bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ [ male announcer ] this is what it's like getting an amazing discount on a hotel with travelocity's top secret hotels. the easy way to get unpublished discounts of up to 55% off top hotels. harpist not included. ♪ >>> in our partnership with essence magazine we go to new orleans. one of the darkest chapters from hurricane katr

new orleans police officers now face possible life sentences for their roles in the post-katrina danziger bridge shootings. the men were convicted yesterday on 25 civil rights violations for shooting six unarmed civilians, killing two of them, and then taking part in a cover-up. >> today's verdict by these jurors sends a powerful, a powerful unmistakable message to public servants, to law enforcement officers, and to the citizens we serve, and indeed, to the world. that message is that public officials, and especially law enforcement officers, will be held accountable for their acts and that any abuse of power, especially that power that violates the rights and the civil liberties of our citizens, will have serious consequences. >> and in another courtroom, a texas jury is back in court this morning to hear evidence in the sentencing phase for warren jeffs. the polygamous sect leader was convicted of sexually assaulting two teenagers, a 12-year-old and a 15-year-old he calls his spiritual wives. jeffs asked to be excused from court today. he said he doesn't want to hear his religion degra

. >>> now to this a jury reaches a verdict in the controversial shootings at the danziger bridge in new two men shot and killed in the chaotic aftermath that was hurricane katrina. four others were wounded. today, four current officers and a former officer were found guilty in those shootings, depriving victims of their rights and other civil rights violations. they will be sentenced this coming december. >>> some chilling video i want to share with you, release here. this bus in philadelphia, shows alleged gunmen looking into the open door of the bus last moment, then passengers huddling, you saw them by the door, dodging bullets, flying blasts. there were no injuries. a male passenger testified a woman -- here they are coming back on, a male passenger testified a woman called in the gunman after he criticize herd for slaerpg sop. the woman and the boy got off the bus before the shooting gap. two people now facing attempted murder charges in that case. >>> new streams of lava flowing on hawaii's big island, new fissures have opened from the kilauea volcano, look at this scientists are

the shooting left two people dead, four others wounded on the danziger bridge less than a week afterout shootings in urban centers all the time, but it is rare when you can actually see one play out. take a look here, video from a septa bus camera in philadelphia shows us how frightened people were when two people showed up with automatic guns. philly.com reports this all started when a passenger on the bus scolded a mother for spanking her toddler who had been running up and down the aisles amount bus. the mother then made a phone call and gun men appeared. amazing. 13 shots were fired in all but no one was actually hit. six people are now facing attempted murder charges. >>> two hours ago, nasa launched the juneau space probe to the solar system's largest planet that would be jupiter. the $1.1 billion spacecraft will travel 400 miles -- 400 million miles over the five years to give us unprecedented insight into how the solar system was formed. >>> two arizona border patrol agents are in some hot water. they are accused of forcing four suspected drug smugglers to eat, yes, eat, mari