Two police officers convicted

NEW ORLEANS (AP):

A New Orleans police officer was convicted yesterday of beating a 48-year-old handyman to death, while a fellow officer was found guilty of trying to help his partner cover up the deadly encounter nearly six years ago.

A federal jury convicted Officer Melvin Williams of violating Raymond Robair's constitutional rights by kicking and beating him with a baton while he and Officer Matthew Dean Moore patrolled the Treme neighbourhood on July 30, 2005. The jury of seven men and five women also convicted Williams and Moore of submitting a false report and found Moore guilty of lying to the FBI.

The case is one of several probes of the New Orleans police department by the Justice Department, which have resulted in charges against 20 current or former officers.

The officers' attorneys had tried to shift the blame for Robair's death to doctors who treated him for a heart attack for about 90 minutes before they discovered his spleen had ruptured. But the jury concluded Williams caused Robair's death.