More than 15 years later, NOPD officers in Danziger shootings permanently lose their badges

At its second of its four annual meetings, Louisiana’s police oversight board on Thursday permanently revoked the credentials of 11 officers, a forceful step for an agency that has averaged fewer than 10 such actions a year for the last several years.?

But as a reminder of how slowly the state’s system moves, five of the 11 were former New Orleans police officers involved in the Danziger Bridge shootings?in the days after Hurricane Katrina.?

Among the darkest episodes in the NOPD’s history, the case made international headlines and led to convictions of 11 officers. Police fatally shot two unarmed civilians and badly wounded four others, and then attempted to pin blame on one of the people they shot at.?
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Four Danziger shooters — Kenneth Bowen, Robert Faulcon, Jr., Robert Gisevius, Jr. and Anthony Villavaso — were decertified Thursday, along with former Sgt. Arthur “Archie” Kaufman, who pleaded guilty to a key role in the cover-up that followed. All were convicted in 2016. ?
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That leaves six others convicted of dishonesty charges in the Danziger case who still have not had their credentials permanently revoked.?
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The Times-Picayune highlighted those cases in April as examples of how even Louisiana’s most notorious law enforcement officers can fly under the radar of the state Peace Officer Standards and Training Council. ?
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POST does not revoke an officer’s credentials unless their offenses result in a felony conviction. But the agency’s patchwork channels of communication with local authorities have allowed many cases to slip through the cracks. ?
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From 2019 to 2022, POST decertified a total of 29 officers. Other states, including some of Louisiana’s neighbors, had numbers in the hundreds.?
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The Times-Picayune also identified?more than?300 officers in the last decade who were fired or resigned, about a quarter of which were facing allegations involving violence, dishonesty, sexual misconduct or malfeasance. But because none were convicted of felonies, none permanently lost their badge and can continue seeking employment.
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That group includes Rayne Police Officer Marvin Martin, who remains on patrol despite pending criminal charges of using excessive force in Lafayette. POST officials said they were unaware of Martin’s April 2022 indictment?until The Times-Picayune reported on Martin’s case last week. ?
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POST officials referred the matter to POST Council Chair Jason Ard, the Livingston Parish sheriff. But Ard declined Thursday to order an emergency suspension against Martin, something he is empowered to do.?
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Ard said in an interview he is still gathering information and aims to make a decision within two weeks. ?
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“I’d like to look at the evidence and make sure I have everything in check,” Ard said. If Ard decides to take action against Martin, he said he’d prefer to recommend that his license be revoked, rather than issue a temporary suspension.?
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“Why suspend somebody for two or three weeks, if 测辞耻’谤别?going to decertify them in two or three months?” Ard said. “This was two years ago. It di诲苍’迟 happen last week. To me, the emergency is not really there.”?
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Ard has yet to hand down an emergency suspension against an officer.?
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Decertifying Martin permanently would require a full vote of the 12-member council. The council meets again in September and December.?
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Martin, a former college football defensive lineman, is accused of throwing a man to the ground and pummeling him until other officers arrived during an April 2021 disturbance call. That incident was the subject of a federal lawsuit settled by Lafayette Consolidated Government last year.?
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Martin resigned three months after the incident, while under investigation. He was hired the next day in Rayne and indicted by Lafayette prosecutors last April. Rayne’s top brass say Martin is not disqualified from remaining on patrol because he 丑补蝉苍’迟 been convicted of anything.?
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Martin’s lawyer said he denies the allegations of excessive force.?
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Ard says Martin’s former employers should have been more forthright with the information they shared with POST. “Those agency heads should be doing their due diligence in reporting that,” Ard said. ?
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But under state law, they di诲苍’迟 have to.?
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Lafayette 飞补蝉苍’迟 required to detail the reasons for Martin’s departure because he had not been fired or convicted of a crime. And 迟丑别谤别’蝉 no requirement that POST be notified when an officer is arrested or indicted, unless they lose their job over the charges.?
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In other states, police officers are required to self-report when 迟丑别测’谤别 charged with a crime, or run the risk of permanently losing their license.?
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All 11 officers decertified during Thursday’s meeting had?pleaded guilty to felonies, meaning they forfeited their rights to appeal their convictions. That made it easier to recommend them for decertification, said Bob Wertz, POST’s executive director.?
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“That accelerates the process,” Wertz said.?
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The officers who had their licenses permanently revoked were: Former St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Deputy Debra Becnel, pled guilty to false statements; Former Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Deputy Wade Bergeron, pled guilty to deprivation of rights; Former NOPD Officer Kenneth Bowen, pled guilty to deprivation of rights and other charges; Former Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Deputy Robert Burns, pled guilty to deprivation of rights; Former Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Deputy Jared Desadier, pled guilty to deprivation of rights; Former NOPD Officer Robert Faulcon, pled guilty to civil rights violation and obstruction; Former NOPD Officer Robert Gisevius, pled guilty to civil rights violation; Former NOPD Officer?Arthur Kaufman, pled guilty to obstruction and other charges; Former Shreveport Police Officer Brian Skinner, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute drugs; Former St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Deputy Lisa Vaccarella, pled guilty to false statements; Former NOPD Officer Anthony Villavaso, pled guilty to obstruction.?