NEW ORLEANS — A second ex-New Orleans officer charged in an alleged conspiracy to cover up a deadly police shooting of unarmed residents after Hurricane Katrina is expected to plead guilty, a person familiar with the case said Tuesday.A federal court filing Tuesday charges former detective Jeffrey Lehrmann with misprision of a felony, which meant he had knowledge of a crime and didn’t report it. It said he “knew of a conspiracy among police officers to obstruct justice,” helped conceal the conspiracy, helped create false reports and provided false information to federal investigators.
Police are accused of fabricating witness statements, falsifying reports and planting a gun in an attempt to make it appear the shootings were justified. The cooperation of two key players in less than a month represents a major move forward by federal investigators as they seek enough evidence to charge a wider group of officers.
