The New Orleans coroner has labeled the death of a man shot by police after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 as a homicide. The man’s family has long fought to remove the official cause of death that had been listed as undetermined.
The death of Henry Glover in the chaotic days following Hurricane Katrina was central to a federal civil rights case against police. After he was shot, his body was left in a car that was set on fire and abandoned by a levee.
The officer who shot Glover was acquitted after a retrial in the federal case. The officer who set the fire is serving a 17-year sentence. It’s not clear what the coroner’s reclassification means for any future legal action. Glover’s family has fought for state charges.
The Justice Department is now overseeing reforms in the police department.
