WBRZ - Baton Rouge

The Justice Department doesn't intend to 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 a court filing Friday.

A July indictment charged Sgts. Robert Gisevius and Kenneth Bowen, officer Anthony Villavaso and former officer Robert Faulcon with deprivation of rights under color of law and use of a weapon during the commission of a crime. The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison or the death penalty.

Sgt. Arthur Kaufman and retired Sgt. Gerard Dugue also are charged in the case, but they didn't face the death penalty.

Two people were killed and four others were wounded by police on the Danziger Bridge less than a week after the 2005 storm.