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NEW ORLEANS (Feb. 25) -- In Hurricane Katrina's chaotic aftermath, police shot six people -- killing two -- as they crossed a bridge in
search of food. For years the case was a shocking symbol of the
confusion and violence that swept through the flooded city. On
Wednesday it became a mark of shame for the police department.

As victims' relatives watched from the courtroom gallery, a retired
lieutenant who supervised the department's probe of the shootings
pleaded guilty to orchestrating a cover-up to conceal that police
gunned down unarmed civilians.

Michael Lohman, a 21-year veteran of the force, pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to obstruct
justice. Prosecutors said Lohman and other unidentified officers
conspired to fabricate witness statements, falsify reports of the
incident and plant a gun in an attempt to make it appear the killings
were justified.

U.S. Attorney Jim Letten said the investigation is continuing and would not say whether higher-ranking officials of the
police department might be involved.

Lohman's plea brought at least some closure to families of victims in the best-known of several
violent incidents that raised questions about police conduct
immediately after Katrina. The shootings happened on Sept. 4, 2005, six
days after the storm smashed levees and flooded 80 percent of the city.

Survivors have said the officers fired at unarmed people who were crossing to get
food at a grocery store. The officers claimed they opened fire only
after being shot at. Ronald Madison, 40 and mentally disabled, and
James Brissette, 19, were killed and four others were wounded.

"We are very, very happy about the progress that the FBI and the U.S.
Justice Department have made," said Romell Madison, Ronald's brother.
"The people of New Orleans should be relieved that there is still
justice for everybody here."

Lohman's plea marked the first conviction in the case. Seven officers were charged with murder or
attempted murder but a state judge threw out all the charges. Federal
authorities then stepped in to investigate.

The federal prosecutor said Lohman is cooperating with investigators who want to
know more about the police department's actions.

Dylan Utley, Lohman's lawyer, said his client "did what's right for him and what's
right for his situation" and hopes to "make amends."

During Wednesday's hearing, Lohman, 42, answered U.S. District Judge Ivan
Lemelle's questions in a soft voice but didn't interact with the
victims' relatives. He is free on $50,000 bond and the maximum sentence
he faces is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. His sentencing is
scheduled May 26.

Described by fellow officers as a straight-shooter and hardworking, by-the-book cop, Lohman's cooperation
is expected to be helpful as authorities examine a wide range of
problems in the police department after Katrina.

The department's reputation -- never sterling in a city where violent crime
is a daily fact of life -- was hammered after Katrina with charges that
officers were involved with shootings, deserted their posts, looted
shops and made off with cars from a Cadillac dealership.

"It looks like the blue code has been broken," former U.S. Attorney Harry
Rosenberg said. "Remember, those officers stood shoulder to shoulder
when it was in state court. Nobody said anything."

The "blue code" is likely to face further tests with Lohman's cooperation as
federal prosecutors probe the fatal shooting by police of Danny
Brumfield Sr. outside the New Orleans convention center; the death of
Henry Glover, whom witnesses claim died in police custody; and the
fatal police shooting of a Connecticut man, Matthew McDonald.

Police have pointed to the extreme conditions they were operating under after
Katrina. Communications failed, hundreds of police vehicles were
destroyed, 80 percent of the force lost their homes to the storm and
there were several reports of rescuers being fired upon. Most of those
reports were later discounted.

"The Constitution applies 365 days a year," said Thomas Perez, head of the Justice Department's civil
rights division. "There are no grace periods from the Constitution. The
rule of law does not get suspended."

In unsealing the case against Lohman, prosecutors drew a picture of how the shootings at the
Danziger bridge immediately spawned a cover-up.

Lohman went to the scene and saw no weapons near or with the victims of the shooting,
federal officials said, and concluded the shootings were not justified.

The documents allege Lohman and an unidentified investigator he supervised
drafted different versions of false reports. Among the claims was a
fabricated statement by one of the victims that she had seen her nephew
and others firing guns on the bridge.

Federal officials say Lohman drafted his own 17-page false report after becoming dissatisfied
that another investigator's false account was not logical.

"On several occasions in or about October 2005, defendant Lohman reviewed
drafts of the false report written by the investigator and counseled
the investigator on ways to make the story in the report sound more
plausible," according to court documents.

When another investigator planned to plant a gun at the scene, Lohman just asked him
if it was "clean," meaning it couldn't be traced, according to the
documents.

The documents said Lohman also told the investigator to speak with each of the shooting officers to ensure they were "OK
with" the false report and were willing to give statements consistent
with it.

"It's pretty incredible stuff," said Gary Bizal, attorney for Jose Holmes, Jr., who was shot several times as he lay on
the ground. "It's like a script from Hollywood."

As the investigation continues with Lohman's cooperation, officers for at
least two other officers have identified their clients as targets.

"Now the government has a cooperating witness and it causes those officers
to wonder if they should be running to the U.S. Attorney to look for a
deal," Rosenberg said.

Both Letten and Perez refused to say how widespread or high the investigation could reach in the department, but
both reiterated that the investigation would not be bound.

"The investigation is going to attempt to bring all perpetrators to justice," Perez said.