Trial Begins for 2 New Orleans Police Officers Charged in Beating Death of Black man

From [HERE] and [HERE] NEW ORLEANS — A New Orleans police officer savagely beat a 48-year-old handyman, Raymond Robair, to death for no reason, breaking four ribs and crushing his spleen before he and his partner concocted a story to conceal the crime, a federal prosecutor said Monday at the start of a trial for the two officers. "At the heart of this case is a flagrant abuse of power, an abuse of power that cost a man his life," Justice Department attorney Jared Fishman told jurors.

In the second civil rights case involving New Orleans police to go to trial in less than six months, prosecutor Jared Fishman told jurors they will hear from civilian witnesses who saw officer Melvin Williams kick Robair and beat him with a police baton. They will also hear from nurses and doctors at Charity Hospital who will explain that, had they known that Robair had suffered significant trauma, they would have taken different measures to treat him. Instead, he died of internal bleeding that they had no idea was occurring.

The officers dropped him off at a hospital, claiming Robair was a "known drug user" they had found under a bridge, according to Fishman. "They didn't tell anyone this man was beaten," he said. "Those lies cost Raymond Robair his life."

A police report submitted by Williams and Moore described the encounter as a "medical incident" and included a false description of how Robair was injured, according to the July 2010 indictment. An autopsy performed by the Orleans Parish coroner's office was a "fraud" that overlooked some of Robair's injuries, Fishman said.

Hessler said Robair slipped and fell on a curb as he approached the officers. Moore found a bag of white powder where Robair had fallen, leading the officers to believe he had ingested cocaine to conceal it from police, according to Hessler.

Williams' kick broke Robair's ribs, which pierced the man's spleen, he said. "In order to survive massive bleeding like Robair's, the spleen has to be removed," Fishman said. "But doctors didn't have any reason to think there was trauma."

Williams, whose haircut earned him the nickname "Flat-Top" from residents, is charged with fatally beating Robair after he and Moore encountered him on a street in the city's Treme neighborhood July 30, 2005. Both officers are charged with falsifying a report. Moore is charged with lying to the FBI when he said Williams never struck Robair.

Williams, an 18-year veteran, faces a federal civil rights charge for the beating. He and his co-defendant, officer Matthew Dean Moore, each face an obstruction charge for allegedly writing a false report, while Moore also is charged with lying to the FBI.

Williams and Moore deny beating Robair. Their attorneys promised jurors a very different description of what happened on July 30, 2005.

Police encounter in Treme

The officers were patrolling in Treme on a Saturday morning, working an overtime shift outside of their assigned district as part of a federal program to boost policing in high-crime neighborhoods. As they turned onto Dumaine Street in Treme, they spotted Robair, who was walking briskly and "doing something with his hands," said Eric Hessler, an attorney for Moore.

But when the cops tried to stop Robair, he instead shuffled, as if to run away. He then slipped and fell on the curb, Hessler said. Moore handcuffed the fallen man and, after walking him to the car, noticed a small bag of white powder on the ground where Robair fell, he said.

Fishman said Robair was "in good health and in good spirits" on the sunny Saturday he encountered the officers. He had just finished eating breakfast and was talking to friends when the officers pulled up.

Robair "made a funny move, a shuffle step of sorts" before Moore subdued and started to handcuff him, Fishman said. That's when Williams allegedly intervened, kicked Robair and beat him with a police baton as he screamed. Williams cursed at bystanders who witnessed the unprovoked attack before he and Moore carried Robair to their police cruiser and drove away, Fishman said.

"Raymond hadn't done anything," Fishman said. 

U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon ruled Monday that defense attorneys can use Dr. Michael Baden, a nationally known forensic pathologist, as an expert witness. Prosecutors had objected, saying they hadn't been given adequate notice that Baden would testify.

Williams is charged with deprivation of rights under color of law, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. The charges against Moore carry a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.