Former New Orleans Cop Sentenced In Katrina Cover-up

A federal judge sentenced former New Orleans police officer Robert Barrios to five years in prison Thursday for his role in the cover-up of the Danziger Bridge shootings after Hurricane Katrina. Barrios was the last of the five ex-cops who cooperated with federal prosecutors to be sentenced.

Barrios was charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice. As part of his guilty plea, he acknowledged lying about the shootings on Sept. 4, 2005, reports the Times-Picayune.

On Sept. 4, 2005, Officer Ignatius Hills and several other officers rode in a large Budget rental truck to the Danziger Bridge, where officers engaged in two shooting incidents that left two civilians dead and four others seriously injured.

A federal jury in August convicted four police officers of unlawfully shooting civilians on the bridge. All four officers, along with a fifth defendant, were also convicted of participating in a wide-ranging cover-up of what happened.