NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Prosecutors intend to retry a retired police sergeant charged with helping cover up deadly shootings on a New Orleans bridge after Hurricane Katrina.
U.S. Attorney Jim Letten made the announcement late Friday but declined to provide further comment.
Earlier Friday, a judge declared a mistrial in the case of Gerard Dugue, ruling that Justice Department prosecutor Bobbi Bernstein may have tainted the jury hearing the trial by mentioning the name of a man who was beaten to death by a New Orleans police officer in a case unrelated to Dugue’s.
The judge rejected Bernstein’s claim that mentioning Raymond Robair’s name couldn’t amount to any prejudice against Dugue.
Dugue denied participating in a cover-up, saying he didn’t learn until years later that police shot innocent, unarmed people on the Danziger Bridge.
