NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A former police officer has been
sentenced to the maximum of five years in prison for helping cover up deadly
shootings of unarmed residents on a New Orleans bridge after Hurricane Katrina.
U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon said Thursday that
the five-year cap on Robert Barrios' sentence for pleading guilty to a
conspiracy charge was a sufficient reward for his cooperation.
The 30-year-old Barrios is one of five former
officers who pleaded guilty to participating in a cover-up to make it appear
police were justified in shooting six people — killing two — on the Danziger
Bridge days after the 2005 storm hit.
Five other current or former officers who were
convicted in August of civil rights violations stemming from the shootings are
scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 14.
Copyright
2011 The Associated Press.
