Ex-New Orleans officer dies, whistleblower against brutality

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Black former New Orleans police officer and whistleblower has died at the age of 70 in Houston. Oris Buckner III participated in but then reported the brutal interrogations of Black people after a young white officer was killed in 1980 near a predominantly African American housing project in that city. Buckner’s wife told The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate that he died unexpectedly on Wednesday. In the days after Officer Gregory Neupert was shot to death in 1980, police killed four Black men in raids and beat others. Nobody was charged with the killings but seven officers were indicted on federal brutality and conspiracy charges. Three were convicted. Buckner testified against them.