Prosecutors won’t seek death penalty against officers charged in post-Katrina bridge shootings

Death penalty not sought in post-Katrina shootings

NEW ORLEANS — The Justice Department says it will not seek the death penalty against four current or former New Orleans police officers charged in deadly shootings on a bridge after Hurricane Katrina.

Prosecutors disclosed the decision in court documents Friday. They did not say why they were not seeking the death penalty.

Less than a week after the 2005 storm, two people were killed and four others were wounded by police on the Danziger Bridge. The shootings led to a widespread investigation of the police department.

Five former officers already have pleaded guilty to charges they helped cover up the shootings. Prosecutors have said police fabricated witnesses, falsified reports and plotted to plant a gun to make it appear that the shootings were justified.