Yes, there is reliable information from journalistic investigations, federal indictments, and media reports about extrajudicial killings following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, particularly involving perceived looters in areas like Algiers Point (an outskirts neighborhood across the Mississippi River from central New Orleans). These incidents often involved white vigilante groups and police officers targeting African Americans, amid widespread chaos, looting rumors, and a breakdown in law enforcement. While initial media coverage exaggerated citywide violence and portrayed "looters" as rampant threats, subsequent probes revealed targeted shootings that went unpunished for years, with some classified as self-defense or covered up.
One prominent case involved vigilantes in Algiers Point who armed themselves to "stop looters" but ended up shooting unarmed black men. For instance, Roland J. Bourgeois Jr., a white resident, was federally indicted in 2010 for civil rights violations after shooting three black evacuees trying to cross the area; he allegedly warned neighbors that "anything coming up this street darker than a brown paper bag is getting shot." Bourgeois pleaded guilty to hate crimes in 2018 and was sentenced to 10 years, but he died shortly after. Investigative reporting by The Nation and NPR uncovered that this group blockaded streets and used violence against African Americans with no evidence of criminal activity, describing it as a "hidden race war" where black individuals were targeted under the guise of anti-looting patrols.
Police were also implicated in extrajudicial actions. A ProPublica, PBS Frontline, and Times-Picayune investigation documented orders allowing officers to shoot suspected looters. In one case, Henry Glover, a black man scavenging near a strip mall (perceived as looting), was shot in the back by officer David Warren. Witnesses reported Glover was unarmed; police then beat helpers, handcuffed him as he bled out, and later incinerated his body in a car to destroy evidence. Officers involved pleaded not guilty, but the incident highlighted a pattern where 11 civilians were shot by New Orleans police in Katrina's aftermath, with some cases leading to charges.
Another major incident was the Danziger Bridge shooting in eastern New Orleans (an outlying area), where police fired on unarmed civilians crossing the bridge six days after the storm, killing two (including a mentally disabled man) and wounding four others. The victims were not looting but seeking help; officers claimed they were fired upon first, but this was later debunked as a cover-up. Six officers were charged in 2010, with some convictions overturned on technicalities, but the case underscored extrajudicial violence amid anti-looting directives.
These events were fueled by a moral panic, with officials like Mayor Ray Nagin and Police Superintendent Edwin Compass amplifying unverified rumors of rampant looting and violence, shifting resources from rescue to property protection. While not all "looters" were killed extrajudicially—many were simply desperate survivors taking essentials—substantiated cases show racial bias and impunity in the outskirts, with investigations revealing far more vigilante and police aggression than the initial "looter terror" narrative suggested.
America is so bigoted.
