title: Shots on the Bridge: Police Violence and Cover-up in the Wake of Katrina
author:  Ronnie Greene 
description: Greene expertly constructs the narrative of events during the shooting and through the federal trial of the officers involved, who received sentences of up to 65 years. . . .A poignant and skillful examination of a case that adds to the ongoing public debate about corrupt police practices, the militarization of local law enforcement, and convoluted legal decisions.<br /><i>Kirkus Reviews</i><br /><br />Compelling and necessary. Meticulously researched, compulsively readable.<br /><i>Los Angeles Review of Books</i><br /><br />This engrossing tale is shockingly reminiscent of more recent examples of police misconduct and should appeal to civic-minded readers in New Orleans and elsewhere.<br /><i>Library Journal</i><br /><br /><i>Shots on the Bridge</i> is a poignant excavation of this case...a harrowingly taut 228-page book that bracingly covers what happened before, during, and after the shooting.<br /><i>Johns Hopkins Magazine</i><br /><br />As the issue of police brutality continues to dominate much of the national discourse, Greenes timely book reminds readers that due process for killer cops can mean more than the lives of dead victims.<br /><i>The Intercept</i><br /><br />For those who believe that police shootings of unarmed citizens began in Ferguson, Missouri, this book will be eye-opening. Greene offers a fine dissection of a tragic injustice and the understandableand often unacknowledgedfears of police which underlie so many of these events.<br />Scott Turow<br /><br />Ronnie Greene has penetrated the blue code and brought light to one of the horrific cases of police misconduct in modern US history, and the victims' families' passionate and unyielding pursuit for justice in the aftermath of the tragedy of Katrina. His book is a must-read for those who seek reforms today to make urban policing more just and fair.<br />Marc H. Morial, president and CEO, National Urban League<br /><br />For everyone who wonders how police officers could inflict deadly violence on the people they are paid to protect, Ronnie Greene has pieced together, in meticulous detail, this epic case study: a tragedy of errors, fears, and lies that cannot be ignored.<br />Amanda Ripley, author of <i>The Smartest Kids in the World</i> and <i>The Unthinkable</i><br /><br /><br /><i>From the Hardcover edition.</i>
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  ## Big trouble
  
  
    
  
  
  ### Dave Barry
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Puggy had held down his job at the Jolly Jackal Bar and Grill, which did not
  have a grill, for almost three weeks. For Puggy, this was a personal
  employment record. In fact, after a career as a semiprofessional vagrant, he
  was seriously thinking about settling in Miami, putting down roots, maybe even
  finding an indoor place to sleep. Although he really liked his tree.
  
  
  Puggy liked everything about Miami. He liked that it was warm. He liked that
  most of the police seemed tolerant of people like him — people who, merely by
  existing, tended to violate laws that solid citizens never even thought about,
  like how long you were allowed to sit in a certain place without buying
  something. The attitude of most of the police down here seemed to be, hey, you
  can sit all you want; we're just glad you're not shooting.
  
  
  Puggy also liked the 