JARED FISHMAN IN CONVERSATION WITH DISTRICT ATTORNEY STEVE MULROY: FIRE ON THE LEVEE
Please join us as we welcome JARED FISHMAN in conversation with Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy on TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28 at 6:00 PM to discuss his book FIRE ON THE LEVEE: THE MURDER OF HENRY GLOVER AND THE SEARCH FOR JUSTICE AFTER HURRICANE KATRINA.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
“A riveting tale told with care and expertise.” –David Simon, creator of The Wire
The former federal prosecutor and founder of Justice Innovation Lab tells the story of his struggle to unravel the cover-up of a police shooting, and subsequent incineration of the shooting victim, in Hurricane Katrina-era New Orleans.
In 2009, Jared Fishman was a young prosecutor working on low-level civil rights cases in the Justice Department when a file landed on his desk. That folder contained two items: a story from The Nation magazine examining a mysterious death in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, and an autopsy report for a man named Henry Glover, whose charred remains were found in a burned-out car two weeks after the storm. The autopsy report, bafflingly, listed no cause of death. But according to The Nation story, a gravely wounded Glover had last been seen in a car driven by a New Orleans police officer.
Intrigued despite the lack of evidence, Fishman set out to learn what happened to Glover. He flew to New Orleans and teamed up with a rookie FBI agent, and together they started to track down anyone with information about what had happened to Glover on that day.
Fire on the Levee tells the story of a young idealistic prosecutor determined to bring the truth to light. The case would lead to major reforms in the New Orleans Police Department and ultimately change our understanding of race, policing and justice in post-Katrina New Orleans and beyond.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jared is committed to finding innovative solutions to the complex, social justice challenges of our times. He is the founder and executive director of Justice Innovation Lab, an organization that designs solutions for a more fair and effective justice system. Justice Innovation Lab uses a collaborative, data-informed approach to identify and fix harmful outcomes in criminal justice systems across the US.
Prior to founding Justice Innovation Lab, Jared served for 14 years as a federal prosecutor in the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. He led some of America’s most complex civil rights prosecutions, securing convictions in high-profile cases involving police misconduct, hate crimes and human trafficking. Jared received multiple awards from the Department of Justice for distinguished service, including the Civil Rights Division’s highest award for excellence in legal advocacy.
Jared is the author of Fire on the Levee: the Murder of Henry Glover and the Search for Justice After Hurricane Katrina. In 2009, Jared led the investigation and prosecution of one of the most egregious and shocking cases of police misconduct in recent history. Fire on the Levee tells the behind-the-scenes story of the years-long battle to hold the police officers accountable for the murder and incineration of a man in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The book exposes much of what is broken in our current criminal legal system, and illuminates how we can begin to fix it.
Jared regularly speaks on issues of data-informed justice reform, police accountability, hate crimes, and human trafficking, and has trained international and local police, prosecutors, and judges on best practices in these areas. He serves as adjunct faculty at the George Washington University Law School and Georgetown University. His work and analysis have been featured on CNN, CBS, CBC, and in The New York Times and The Washington Post.
Jared earned his law degree from the George Washington University Law School, and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He began his career at the U.S. State Department, where he worked to rebuild legal systems in post-war Kosovo. He also served as a line prosecutor at the Washington, DC, US Attorney’s Office, where he handled domestic violence and sex crimes cases.
In his spare time, he loves seasonal outdoor activities, ranging from swimming and tennis to cross-country skiing and hockey. He is also the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of a middle-aged dad band.