Judge tosses police charges in Katrina bridge case

HOUSTON (Reuters) - A New Orleans judge on Wednesday dismissed charges against seven policeman accused of killing two people on a bridge amid the chaos that followed Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Criminal District Court Judge Raymond Bigelow threw out murder and attempted murder indictments, saying prosecutors had acted improperly, a clerk for the judge's office said.

The police had been accused of shooting pedestrians on the Danziger Bridge in eastern New Orleans on September 4, 2005, just days after Hurricane Katrina inundated much of the city and stranded tens of thousands of people.

Two people were killed and four wounded in the incident, amid widespread looting and shooting. Police officers Robert Falcoun, Kenneth Bowen, Robert Gisevius and Anthony Villavaso were charged with first-degree murder.

Three other officers, Robert Barrios, Michael Hunter and Ignatius Hills, were accused of attempted murder.

All seven men had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The case sparked outrage among the families of the victims and their supporters, who say the accused officers received preferential treatment.

(Reporting by Anna Driver in Houston; Editing by Bruce Nichols and John O'Callaghan)