Cops trapped survivors in New Orleans

[glugglug]

The question that keeps getting asked is "Why didn't they evacuate?" Well, it turns out in some cases it is because Gretna police wouldn't let them..

Gretna police closed & blockaded the Crescent City Connection bridge before the storm because they claim if they let New Orleans people in their suburban town would be " looted, burned and pillaged".

Wow, just wow.

http://www.washtimes.com/upi/20050908-112433-4907r.htm

http://www.cadenhead.org/workbench/news/2748

 

[yllus]

I am very, very skeptical.

 

[conjur]

There have been several articles in the last few days of people who tried making their way out of the city over that bridge only to be turned back.

Pretty damn sad.

 

[JacobJ]

http://news.google.com/news?q=gretna%20police

 

[Darkhawk28]

Originally posted by: conjur
There have been several articles in the last few days of people who tried making their way out of the city over that bridge only to be turned back.

Pretty damn sad.

Don't forget:

Shepard Smith said the EXACT, and I mean EXACT same thing on Hannity and Colmes...

Will try to find link...

Found it: Shepard Smith on Hannity and Colmes Confirming the OP's article.[

 

[cubeless]

"...verified that there are paramedics from SF with those names..." roflmao!!!

"...but i did sleep in a holiday inn last night..."

please, please tell me that you posted this as humor... i expected the link to be to the onion...

 

[ntdz]

Originally posted by: glugglug
The question that keeps getting asked is "Why didn't they evacuate?" Well, it turns out in some cases it is because Gretna police wouldn't let them..

Gretna police closed & blockaded the Crescent City Connection bridge before the storm because they claim if they let New Orleans people in their suburban town would be " looted, burned and pillaged".

Wow, just wow.

http://www.washtimes.com/upi/20050908-112433-4907r.htm

http://www.cadenhead.org/workbench/news/2748

Apparently the major and governer are the ones that don't care about blacks, not Bush, right? :disgust:

 

[1EZduzit]

"Once we arrived there, the mayor of Gretna, his police force, police chief ... they jumped out with M-16s and shotguns and told us to get out. We had kids terrified. They said we did not have permission to be in their city. They surrounded us, cocked their guns, told us not to move -- told us to gather together. ... Our superintendent tried to explain to them that we were waiting for buses and didn't need rations," Kevin said.

"And the bad thing about that is, (due to the flooding) that was the only way in and out of the city," Tony said.

http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/Stories/0,1413,91~3089~3047327,00.html

If that's true, it's totally unbeliveable????

 

[piasabird]

Yerrr not from roun here are ya?

 

[Deudalus]

Originally posted by: 1EZduzit

"Once we arrived there, the mayor of Gretna, his police force, police chief ... they jumped out with M-16s and shotguns and told us to get out. We had kids terrified. They said we did not have permission to be in their city. They surrounded us, cocked their guns, told us not to move -- told us to gather together. ... Our superintendent tried to explain to them that we were waiting for buses and didn't need rations," Kevin said.

"And the bad thing about that is, (due to the flooding) that was the only way in and out of the city," Tony said.

http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/Stories/0,1413,91~3089~3047327,00.html

If that's true, it's totally unbeliveable????

There are 5 ways out of the city right now and 4 of those 5 have never flooded throughout the aftermath, I'm not sure how many are open and how many are closed to emergency vehicles only. But I'm sure 4 of the 5 aren't closed.

 

[conjur]

Originally posted by: Darkhawk28

Originally posted by: conjur
There have been several articles in the last few days of people who tried making their way out of the city over that bridge only to be turned back.

Pretty damn sad.

Don't forget:

Shepard Smith said the EXACT, and I mean EXACT same thing on Hannity and Colmes...

Will try to find link...

Found it: Shepard Smith on Hannity and Colmes Confirming the OP's article.[

Yeah, I saw that video. And there's the story of the conventioneers from the Ritz Carlton that formed a group to head out of the city and they were turned back at the bridge, too.

 

[Genx87]

" looted, burned and pillaged

Playing the devils advocate here. After what happened to NO you cant say they didnt have a case.

 

[Starbuck1975]

Playing the devils advocate here. After what happened to NO you cant say they didnt have a case.

After reading what accounts I can find on the situation on the Crescent City Connection, I can't say I really blame the authorities of Gretna...given the total lack of coordination and communication in the first 24-48 hours of Katrina's wake, the authorities of Gretna probably over reacted to accounts of looting and anarchy spreading throughout New Orleans.

Perhaps their response was not proportional to the threat posed...then again, a mass and uncoordinated exodus across the Crescent City Connection could have quickly overwhelmed Gretna law enforcement officials, and simply caused the chaos to spread further.

Gretna officials do have an obligation to protect the citizens of their jurisdiction.

 

[ExpertNovice]

Originally posted by: Starbuck1975

Playing the devils advocate here. After what happened to NO you cant say they didnt have a case.

After reading what accounts I can find on the situation on the Crescent City Connection, I can't say I really blame the authorities of Gretna...given the total lack of coordination and communication in the first 24-48 hours of Katrina's wake, the authorities of Gretna probably over reacted to accounts of looting and anarchy spreading throughout New Orleans.

Perhaps their response was not proportional to the threat posed...then again, a mass and uncoordinated exodus across the Crescent City Connection could have quickly overwhelmed Gretna law enforcement officials, and simply caused the chaos to spread further.

Gretna officials do have an obligation to protect the citizens of their jurisdiction.

Does that mean that any city can stop anyone from entering in case of emergencies? Not in my world, but, then, I believe in the rights of the people over the government. IE, I'm opposed to Communisim and Fascism.

Gretna Police Department Mission Statement

The City of Gretna Police Department's mission is to prevent crime and maintain order while affording dignity and respect to all individuals; to protect lives and property while safe guarding constitutional guarantees, committed to the delivery of police services in the most efficient, fairest, responsive and ethical manner possible to impartially enforce all laws and ordinances, while enhancing the quality of life for all citizens through new and innovative approaches to problem solving and crime prevention; with a sensitivity to the priorities and needs of the people; and to promote professionalism and pride among employees of the City of Gretna Police Department.

Guess my definition of respect and dignity is different. I wonder what constitution they are talking about. The Constitution of the United Nations?

 

[zendari]

Hmm, who is responsible for the police?

 

[1EZduzit]

Originally posted by: Starbuck1975

Playing the devils advocate here. After what happened to NO you cant say they didnt have a case.

After reading what accounts I can find on the situation on the Crescent City Connection, I can't say I really blame the authorities of Gretna...given the total lack of coordination and communication in the first 24-48 hours of Katrina's wake, the authorities of Gretna probably over reacted to accounts of looting and anarchy spreading throughout New Orleans.

Perhaps their response was not proportional to the threat posed...then again, a mass and uncoordinated exodus across the Crescent City Connection could have quickly overwhelmed Gretna law enforcement officials, and simply caused the chaos to spread further.

Gretna officials do have an obligation to protect the citizens of their jurisdiction.

Do they have the right to turn law abiding citizens away from their town?? If this is true, they could at least have let them go on the otherside of the town instead of forcing people back into NO?? Get a grip!!

 

[1EZduzit]

Originally posted by: zendari
Hmm, who is responsible for the police?

Bush, of course.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: yllus
I am very, very skeptical.

It is not just true for citizens stuck on the other side but Police Officers too.

A St Bernard Officer lost his home to flooding and he had family in Slidell and he was worried about them. He managed by walking to get to the Causeway Bridge where the Causeway Police would not give him a ride across.

He finally was able to get a ride with a vehicle across and as he got to his family collasped from dehydration and exhaustion. Took them two days to bring him around.

He is a friend of my neighbor across the street.

 

[Lanyap]

"All our people had evacuated and we locked the city down," he said.

He added that the small town, which he called "a bedroom community" for the city of New Orleans, would have been overwhelmed by the influx.

"There was no food, water or shelter" in Gretna City, Lawson said. "We did not have the wherewithal to deal with these people.

"Evidently, someone on the ground (in New Orleans) was telling people there was transport here, or food or shelter," said Lawson. "There wasn't."

So would the people trying to escape from N.O. been in better shape than where they were?

So many people looking from the outside in who have no idea what the situation is.

Answering the call

Officers collect supplies for Louisiana department

By Marianne Love , Staff Writer

AZUSA
Gretna Police Department needs help.

That's how an SOS e-mail began to Azusa police from the Louisiana police department across the river from New Orleans.

So on Thursday, Azusa sent boxes of supplies.

The SOS was for bare essentials to help 350 officers of neighboring St. Bernard Sheriff's Department who, along with their families, only have the clothes on their backs.

St. Bernard Sheriff's serves about 175,000 people in an area that is 100 percent under 3 to 30 feet of water, Gretna police Chief Arthur Lawson said.

"They have lost everything. Some have been working since the storm hit in the same clothes,' Lawson said.

Azusa police were joined by several local businesses in helping Gretna.

Ken's Kubicle of Glendora donated $100; employees from Quality Material Handling Inc. collected donated items; Odyssey Shoes chipped in 340 pair of work boots; Physicians Formula Cosmetics in Azusa donated 100 tubes of sunscreen and 200 sticks of lip balm; while Costco in Azusa kicked in money, dog food and diapers.

The merchandise will be shipped by Pico Rivera-based Yellow Transportation. Account Executive Lenny Sacco said the company is helping out throughout the country.

"We have had 200 employees directly effected. We are more than happy to help. We are people helping people,' Sacco said.

Lawson said St. Bernard is an island and the only way to reach them is by boat or ferry.

Lawson said two levees breached St. Bernard's jurisdiction and that most of the flood water remains.

He said about 30 bodies from two nursing homes in St. Bernard Parish were found recently and those in charge will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for leaving them behind.

http://www.whittierdailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,207~12026~3046613,00.html

 

[Starbuck1975]

Does that mean that any city can stop anyone from entering in case of emergencies? Not in my world, but, then, I believe in the rights of the people over the government. IE, I'm opposed to Communisim and Fascism.

It is neither Communist nor Fascist to prevent an escalating situation from slipping further into anarchy.

Guess my definition of respect and dignity is different. I wonder what constitution they are talking about. The Constitution of the United Nations?

Prior to the levees breaking, the Superdome and later the Convention Center emerged as the designated shelters for those who were unable or unwilling to leave New Orleans...the situation at both those locations did not become dire until the levees broke, without a plan in place to either move relief supplies to those locations or evacuate those trapped there.

Do they have the right to turn law abiding citizens away from their town?? If this is true, they could at least have let them go on the otherside of the town instead of forcing people back into NO?? Get a grip!!

And what if Gretna became an evacuation dumping ground...if the tens of thousands of people at the SuperDome and Convention Center started moving across the bridge...and given the reports of behavior both in the streets of New Orleans and within the Superdome/Convention Center, not all of these citizens were law abiding.

And if Gretna authorities allowed these people to simply pass through...what then...the small towns surrounding New Orleans had neither the means nor manpower to provide for the staggering number of evacuees leaving New Orleans.

 

[PELarson]

"Gretna gets help from its friends"

:disgust::roll:

 

[conjur]

Today's This American Life on NPR had stories re: people being barred from walking out of New Orleans.

 

[1EZduzit]

Police made their storm misery worse

When it became clear that the help they so desperately needed was not coming anytime soon, the group pooled their resources in an effort to buy their way out of the surrounding hell. They ponied up $25,000, enough to lease 10 buses that would carry them out of the city.

But as the buses they paid for approached the city, they were immediately commandeered by the National Guard forces that were in New Orleans, Bradshaw and Slonsky said Thursday in an interview back home.

"If they used the buses to get the most severely ill out of the Superdome and convention center, I have no problem with that,'' Bradshaw said. "The thing that gets me is that if we could get on the phone and get 10 buses, why couldn't FEMA make that call?''

 

[luigi1]

This is disgusting. If they had tryed to leave they would have been turned back? All the more reason they had to get relief within 24, 36 hours. There has to be a right answer. Even an enlightened indviudable would have found them selves at the superdome or even worce the convention center to die of dehydration? Let alone the more clueless among us.