New Orleans: Judge sharply reduces jail time for police who shot unarmed people fleeing Hurricane Katrina

The incident was one of many where police officers were accused of taking the law into their hands after the storm struck

The shootings have become notorious in the 11 years since they took place (AP)

Five former police officers involved in the notorious killing of two unarmed men in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, are to receive reduced prison sentences after the intervention of a judge.

The officers, who took part in what became known as the Danziger Bridge shootings, on Wednesday pleaded guilty to reduced charges approved by the judge.

The officers were convicted in 2011 but US District Judge Kurt Engelhardt set aside the jury's verdict two years later because of misconduct by federal prosecutors, including anonymous online comments about the case.

The Associated Press said four of the former officers had been locked up for nearly six years while the fifth had been out on bond.

Their original convictions called for them to serve anywhere from 65 years to six years in prison. The plea deal has them serving a range of 12 to three years.

The shootings took place on September 4 2005, just days after the levees failed and water swamped the city of New Orleans.

Ronald Madison and James Brissette were among six black people shot by police as they tried to leave New Orleans (Facebook)

Police gunned down 17-year-old James Brissette and 40-year-old Ronald Madison, who were both unarmed, and wounded four others on the Danziger Bridge.

The victims were trying to flee the devastated city. To cover up the crime, the officers planted a gun, fabricated witnesses and falsified reports, prosecutors have said.

Police said at the time the officers were responding to a report of other officers down when they came under fire.

Former officer Robert Faulcon was sentenced to 65 years in prison; Kenneth Bowen and Robert Gisevius each received 40 years; Anthony Villavaso got 38 years; and Arthur Kaufman, now out on bond, received a six-year sentence.

Under the new plea agreement, they will get credit for time served and they could be released from prison anywhere from the next one to six years.

In September 2013, the judge said the case had been tainted by “grotesque prosecutorial misconduct,” including leaks to media and posting of anonymous comments by at least three government attorneys on a New Orleans newspaper's website.

Prosecutors have argued that there is no evidence the misconduct affected the verdict.

The incident, which has become notorious in the eleven years since it happened, was one of a number of instances where police officers were accused of taking the law into their hands as the region was rocked by the storm and the loss of power, and people struggled to find food and water.