New Orleans , Louisiana ( CNN ) -- New Orleans police lined up `` like at a firing range '' and fatally shot an unarmed man in the back as he fled from them in the days after Hurricane Katrina swept ashore , a witness to the shooting told CNN . It marks the first time a witness has come forward publicly with information about the shooting of Ronald Madison , a 40-year-old mentally retarded man whose death has sparked a police investigation and a grand jury probe into what happened in and around the Danziger Bridge that day . `` He just fell like he was collapsing , '' Kasimir Gaston told CNN . `` Like something just wiped him out . '' Gaston was one of many flood refugees living on the second floor of the Friendly Inn , a low-income motel on the city 's east side . On Sunday , September 4 , 2005 , he says he woke up and stepped onto the balcony of the motel and saw a man running , hands outstretched and being fired upon . Former officer pleads guilty in shooting . Initial police accounts said that Madison reached for his waistband and turned on police , but Gaston said Madison did not appear to have a weapon and that he was running away from police `` hands out , full speed '' when he was shot . Police declined CNN 's request for an interview . After the shooting last year , police said officers had responded to reported gunshots on the Danziger Bridge and that a running gunbattle ensued with six suspects . One teenager was killed near the base of the bridge and three other people were wounded , according to police reports . A police department press release from October 4 , 2005 , said Madison , described as an unidentified gunman , was `` confronted by a New Orleans Police officer . The suspect reached into his waist and turned toward the officer who fired one shot , fatally wounding him . '' When asked if Madison had a gun , Gaston said , `` I did n't see any on him . '' No gun was found on Madison 's body . An autopsy obtained previously by CNN and verified by the Orleans Parish Coroner said Madison suffered five gunshot wounds to his back and two in his shoulder . Gaston said he came forward now because he is still troubled by what happened . He said he decided to break his silence after watching a `` CNN Presents '' documentary , `` Shoot to Kill , '' about the days after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast on August 29 , 2005 . CNN has visited the room where Gaston was staying . From that balcony , it is about 100 feet to where Madison was shot and killed . The police department has said the shooting has been thoroughly investigated . But Gaston said no officer or detective approached him about what he saw . He was not asked for his name or phone number , Gaston said . Gaston said his only contact with police on that day was when officers told him not to touch Madison 's body , which was lying behind Gaston 's truck , parked in the motel entranceway . CNN has obtained a newspaper photo taken that Sunday morning that shows where the body fell . The back of a truck with a rusted trailer hitch and broken tail light can be seen in the photo . The photo appears to be Gaston 's truck , which now sits in a parking lot in Dallas , Texas , where he now lives . `` They notified me that I had two bullet holes in the passenger side , '' he said . Two bullet marks can be seen at the right rear of the truck today . Mary Howell , an attorney suing New Orleans police on behalf of the dead man 's family , says there were several potential witnesses living at the Friendly Inn at the time of the shooting . She has accused police of violating procedures by failing to even write down their names . Howell said Ronald Madison and his older brother , Lance Madison , were trying to avoid the shootout between police and others that day when they ran up the Danziger Bridge , toward the other side of the Industrial Canal . Lance Madison has said a policeman pointed what looked like a rifle or shotgun at his brother and shot Ronald near the top of the bridge . Lance said he helped carry his wounded brother to the entrance of the motel and left him there while he ran for help . After being arrested , Lance was brought back to the motel where , he says , he first saw his brother was dead . Howell said police , in the chaos after Hurricane Katrina , failed to properly investigate the fatal shooting and are now trying to put everything behind them . `` There 's a lot of things that have been washed away with this hurricane , '' Howell said . `` We are doing everything we can to make sure this is not one of them . '' While the family of Ronald Madison presses on with its lawsuit , a grand jury in New Orleans is investigating the case . Gaston said he is willing to testify before the grand jury if it will help get to the truth . `` I 'm not trying to say nobody did this and nobody did that , '' Gaston said . `` I 'm just saying what I saw and being truthful and honest about what I saw with my own eyes . ''
Ronald Madison , a 40-year-old mentally retarded man , was shot on September 4 , 2005 . His death sparked a police investigation . In 2006 , a witness to CNN gave his accounting of the shooting . He said Madison appeared unarmed and was shot in the back .