NEW ORLEANS — A federal jury on Friday convicted five current or former New Orleans police officers of civil-rights violations in one of the lowest moments for city police in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: the shooting deaths of a teenager and a mentally disabled man as they crossed a bridge in search of food and help.

The case was a high-stakes test of the Justice Department’s effort to rid the police department of corruption and brutality. A total of 20 current or former New Orleans police officers were charged last year after a series of federal investigations.

Most of the cases center on actions during the aftermath of the Aug. 29, 2005, storm, which plunged the city into a state of lawlessness and desperation.

Sgts. Robert Gisevius and Kenneth Bowen, Officer Anthony Villavaso and former Officer Robert Faulcon were convicted of civil-rights violations in the shootings that killed two people and wounded four others on the Danziger Bridge less than a week after the storm. They face possible life prison sentences.

Retired Sgt. Arthur ‘Archie’ Kaufman and the other four men also were convicted of engaging in a cover-up that included a planted gun, fabricated witnesses and falsified reports. The five men were […]