Police grand jury testimony at issue

NEW ORLEANS, March 10 (UPI) -- Defense lawyers say three New Orleans police officers charged in a shootout in the chaos after Hurricane Katrina were forced to appear before a grand jury.

A total of seven officers face charges that include murder and attempted murder for the shootings on the Danziger Bridge. Survivors say the officers opened fire on people simply waiting for help without identifying themselves as police, while the officers say they were in a gunfight.

Lawyers for the three officers who testified before the grand jury have asked to see transcripts of testimony and witness lists, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported.

They argued at a hearing Friday that charges against their clients should be dismissed if any of their testimony was used "to further the investigation."

While Chief Judge Raymond Bigelow made no decisions Friday, he did say he was surprised that prosecutors brought the police officers in as witnesses.

Two people, one of them a retarded man, were killed and two people suffered crippling injuries on the bridge. The shooting occurred six days after Katrina when New Orleans was still flooded, and stories of gunmen roaming the city were rife.