Five former cops were sentenced on Wednesday for shooting six unarmed civilians, killing two on a bridge after the Hurricane Katrina disaster in New Orleans, according to reports.
U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt sentenced four of the cops to at least 38 years in prison, while the lead investigator in the case was sentenced to six years, reported the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
Robert Fauclon Jr., 48, received a sentence of 65 years for shooting a mentally disabled man in the back with a shotgun, killing him, according to the newspaper. His penalty was the harshest handed down by the judge.
Engelhardt called the incident “a sad day for New Orleans” and said he was “astonished and deeply troubled” by some of the plea bargains that were offered by the prosecution.
“The verdicts and sentencing in the Danziger Bridge trial provide significant closure to a dark chapter in our city’s history,” New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said in a statement after the verdict was handed down, according to the WDSU television station.
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