Ex-Cop Gets 4 Years In Katrina Shooting Cover-Up

NPR

Published November 2, 2011 at 6:12 PM EDT

A former New Orleans police lieutenant has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for his role in a cover-up of deadly police shootings after Hurricane Katrina.

Michael Lohman faced a maximum of five years in prison after pleading guilty last year to conspiring to obstruct justice. Noting that Lohman cooperated in their case, prosecutors urged U.S. District Judge Ivan Lemelle to limit his prison time to two years.

Lemelle rejected that recommendation, ordering Lohman to begin a four-year sentence on Jan. 2.

Lohman is one of five former officers who pleaded guilty to participating in a plot to make it appear police were justified in shooting six people, killing two, on the Danziger Bridge less than a week after the 2005 storm struck New Orleans.

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