New Orleans police officer resigns after being charged in cover-up of Katrina bridge shootings

New Orleans cop resigns amid cover-up charges

NEW ORLEANS — A New Orleans police officer who is expected to plead guilty to helping cover up a deadly shooting of unarmed residents in Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath has resigned from the police department.

Thirty-three-year-old Michael Hunter, of Slidell, was charged Tuesday with one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice and one count of misprision of a felony. A person familiar with the case said Hunter is expected to plead guilty as part of a deal with prosecutors.

His lawyer, Townsend Myers, confirmed his client’s resignation Wednesday but wouldn’t comment on the case.

Hunter is accused of giving a false account of the shootings that killed two people and wounded four others when he testified before a state grand jury in 2006.