Officials in New Orleans are reacting to stiff sentences handed down in federal court to former police officers convicted of shooting unarmed civilians. The case dates back to the chaotic days after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu says the sentences provide closure to a “dark chapter” in the city’s history. Officers shot and killed two people and wounded four others on the Danziger Bridge. They were responding to a call of officers under fire. A former sergeant who helped stage a cover-up will serve six years. Officers involved in the shooting received from 38 to 65 years in prison. The civil rights case was prosecuted by the Justice Department. A spokesman says the city can now “take a step forward.”
