On March 22, 1990, Earl Joseph Hauck, a 43-year-old White male police officer in New Orleans, was shot and killed while on duty. A 21-year veteran of the New Orleans Police Department, Hauck was directing traffic on St. Charles Avenue when he spotted a man who matched the description of a suspect that had been broadcasted over the police radio. The suspect, Adolph Archie, had escaped from the parish prison and was seen breaking into a car at the Superdome.
When a security guard confronted him, Archie managed to take her gun and flee.
Officer Hauck pursued Archie and cornered him at a nearby loading dock. As Hauck reached for his handcuffs to make the arrest, Archie opened fire, fatally wounding the officer. Another officer on the scene shot and wounded Archie, who was then taken into custody. Officer Hauck was transported to Charity Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The suspect, Adolph Archie, an African-American man, also died 13 hours after being taken into police custody. While being transported, the officers, including a close friend of Hauck's, bypassed the nearest hospital where a crowd of angry officers had gathered. They instead took Archie to the police station where Officer Hauck had worked. Later, when Archie was finally brought to the hospital, he had sustained numerous severe injuries, including a cracked skull, a crushed larynx, and a shattered face. An autopsy commissioned by his family concluded that he had been beaten to death. The official cause of death was attributed to him allegedly ripping a tracheal tube from his throat while awaiting a CAT scan. The death of Adolph Archie in police custody sparked allegations of vigilante justice and led to investigations by the police department, the district attorney, and the U.S. Attorney.
