Ex-officer, 4 years in Katrina shootings cover-up

NEW ORLEANS – 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. Prosecutors — noting that Lohman cooperated in their case — 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.