Katrina Cops Indicted in 2005 Murder

A federal indictment filed Thursday has charged New Orleans police officers Ronald Mitchell and Ray Jones with perjury and obstruction of justice. In September 2005, Danny Brumfield, Sr., a New Orleans resident, had attempted to get Mitchell and Jones' attention as they drove by the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, where people displaced by Hurricane Katrina had sought refuge. According to the indictment, Mitchell fired a shotgun at Brumfield after Brumfield either jumped on the hood of the car or was hit by the car. Mitchell and Jones have been indicted on six total counts pertaining to testimony they gave during a deposition for a civil suit filed by Brumfield's family, during which Mitchell stated that Brumfield came at him with a shiny object in hand. The civil suit was settled in 2008 for $400,000, and the new indictment claims the men perjured to "corruptly obstruct, impede, and influence an official proceeding."