NEW ORLEANS -- A federal judge has refused to postpone a sentencing hearing for a former New Orleans police officer who pleaded guilty to helping cover up deadly shootings of unarmed residents on a bridge in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath.
The former officer, Michael Hunter, is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 17. Prosecutors had asked for more time to evaluate his cooperation, but U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance denied that request Monday.
Vance said prosecutors can ask her to reduce Hunter's sentence once he finishes cooperating.
Hunter, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to obstruct justice and one count of misprision of a felony, faces a maximum sentence of eight years in prison.
He is one of five former officers who have pleaded guilty in the case. Jeffrey Lehrmann, a former detective who also pleaded guilty to participating in a cover up, was sentenced in September to three years in prison.
Hunter's attorney, Townsend Myers, declined to comment Tuesday on the judge's ruling.
Six other current or former officers also have been indicted on charges stemming from the shootings and the alleged cover up. Their trial is scheduled to start in June 2011.
Police shot and killed two people and wounded four others on the Danziger Bridge less than a week after the August 2005 storm. Prosecutors said officers conspired to plant a gun and falsified reports to make it appear the shootings were justified.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
