A federal jury found four New Orleans police officers guilty on Friday of charges related to the shooting deaths of civilians in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and a subsequent cover-up.

The jury stopped short of calling the shootings murder, declining to convict on accusations the killings were intentional.

The officers faced up to 25 counts each for their roles in the Sept. 4, 2005, shootings that left two dead and four others seriously injured.

A fifth officer was convicted of helping the others cover the incident up.

The decision means the deaths of Ronald Madison and James Brissette were the result of police willfully violating their civil rights, but that police did not arrive at the scene with the intent to murder the victim.

-Staff Reports