Law Officers, Overwhelmed, Are Quitting the Force

NYtimes ^ | September 4, 2005 | JOSEPH B. TREASTER

[Jet Jaguar]

NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 3 - Reeling from the chaos of this overwhelmed city, at least 200 New Orleans police officers have walked away from their jobs and two have committed suicide, police officials said Saturday.

Some officers officially told their superiors they were leaving, police officials said. Others worked for a while and then stopped showing up. Still others, for reasons not always clear, never made it in after the storm.

The absences come during a period of extraordinary stress for the New Orleans Police Department. For nearly a week, many of its 1,500 members have had to work around the clock, trying to cope with flooding, an overwhelming crush of refugees, looters and occasional snipers.

P. Edwin Compass III, the superintendent of police, said most of his officers were staying at their posts. But in an unusual note of sympathy for a top police official, he said it was understandable that many were frustrated. He said morale was "not very good" after nearly a week of deprivation and danger.

[rineaux]

Did not blame them. I have several friends I went to HS with that became cops. Some have served honorably though the years given the circumstances, yes, including lower pay.

Blame the DA's office that has allowed criminal's to prosper in NO.

Remember thought several of them have been jailed for crimes that exceed other criminal's. Blame too the lower standards as I mentioned before that help corruption.

[2nd amendment mama]

"We can't fight every fire the way we did in the past and try to put it out," Superintendent Parent told a group of firefighters on Saturday morning at a promotion ceremony in the Algiers section of New Orleans, a dry area. "We've got to use our resources the best we can."

WTF? They've still got people trapped in houses and they're having a promotion ceremony? No wonder New Orleans is in the shape it's in. I guess having a "promotion ceremony" in the midst of utter and total chaos is "using resources the best they can". These idiots have their priorities totally screwed up!

[Mark]

It seems that they didn't learn from Florida after the Cuban debris were allowed in with criminal records and hired by local police without any background information. Narcotics, bribes, murder were common-- "Scar Face" was made into a movie.

[rineaux]

You will get NO argument from me about the politician's. If you want something done, you leave a stack of money in a paper bad in a conference room. You get the permit,sale, etc.

I hope it will be cleaned up but I've been waiting for this since I can remember.

If you think it was bad then, wait till all these federal dollars start flowing in. The paper bags will turn into suit cases.

Yes, some cops are on the take and have been for a long time. Some, as I mentioned earlier are doing jail time for murder(protecting drug dealers). You just have to have a HS diploma or equivalent to enter the academy.

[Diva Betsy Ross]

We are talking about New Orleans cops. The cop lovers may be familiar with the topic - as am I. My personal experience is that New Orleans cops turn right and wrong inside out.

Diva's Husband

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

Saw some on break at Wal-Mart looting with the other perps.

[little jeremiah]

Very Good News.

Cheered me up immensely.

[sarasmom]

Detroit?
It is not skin color that determines character.
In the South, there are just as many poor whites, if not more, as poor blacks.And poor blacks are just as hungry to climb out of poverty with their morals intact as anyone else of any color.
Pollitically, and via the media, its a different tale.

[RTINSC]

LOL...I think I know that guy.

[gpapa]

no place to urinate and no place to defecate

Find the nearest discrete place, take a plastic bag along, and go to it.

Our vehicles can't get any gas. The water in the street is contaminated. My officers are walking around in wet shoes

Walk or run, get a boat, get some waders dumb ass..

One officer said, quote: We have to use our own shotguns," said the patrolman, who did not want to be identified by name. "This isn't theirs; this is my personal gun." [and the looters have more weapons than the cops; why?}

Mr. Compass, you should be fired. Maybe you better run to your boss, the New Orleans Homeland Security Director, and see if he can get you off with good behavior. If not join the mayor as his disaster party and hide behind his butt. If not you had better get your Comp-ass out of town in a hurry.

Interesting that the article mentioned none of the firefighters deserted. If true kudos to them. It appears the men in red are tougher than the men in blue. Must be mostly Bush supporters I guess. After all Bush did win Louisiana a couple of times if memory serves me right.

[solitas]

Two committed suicide? How utterly tragic.

Well, at least THEY won't be suing to get their jobs back, with mental health medical expenses and the like, after this is all over. And that's a good thing (which _could_ be more-good; but the others won't have the decency to DO THE SAME).

[Anita1]

If they don't rebuild NO - where will the citizens of NO go? Think about it! (sarc)

[gpapa]

The Friday they are referring to was Sept. 2nd as I understand it.

[PeoplesRepublicOfWashington]

What are you supposed to do when your mayor openly endorses looting, thereby allowing the fecal matter to hit the fan?

[Williams]

I'm wondering why half the national guard didn't quit, desert, etc in the middle of the relief effort. Half the police walked away, many just stopped reporting for work - in the middle of the city's greatest need! What the hell kind of lousy organization and lack of commitment is that? And the article is written as though it's understandable and they deserve sympathy.

The city's police force quits, but the MSM is wondering why the early relief effort was flawed? And by the way, can someone tell me which part of the hurricane aftermath was so difficult the cops should quit en masse? It was the first day or two, so we're talking about people who walked out immediately.

Maybe I missed it, but I recall only one shooting of an officer. Cops were not drowning, they were not attacked by swarms of rioters, they were not being killed. I can see no reason they quit when no one else did. And anytime i saw the police chief on tv, he was exhibiting zero leadership. Like the mayor he was just yelling, "we need the feds to send buses!" What a total punk ass performance.

[Texasforever]

If they don't rebuild NO - where will the citizens of NO go? Think about it! (sarc)

Hell just find a big pool of quicksand and place them there. Same difference.

[filbert]

I saw that statement and I still don't understand it. It seems the reverse is true. If the FEDS were able to take it away, the locals could have blamed everything on the feds.
What am I missing ?
thanx Oh, thank God. I thought after reading that nonsense that I was the only one who had somehow been transported to Bizarro World.

[BurbankKarl]

I cant believe NYPD is sending 200 officers....they better go after those looting officers we saw.

[BurbankKarl]

We watched that in the office...the girl on WDSU started tearing up.

[Diddle E. Squat]

Some of the police officers in New Orleans have been heroic. Truly incredible. But it appears almost as many were a disgrace to law enforcement.

You have no idea how many were crooked or not heroic, just anecdotal stuff you've read on the internet or saw on TV. Real easy to pound on your keyboard all kinds of slander and stereotypes. All we know is that they are down there in the middle of hell, while you sit in air conditioned comfort and pass judgement on them, just like the media does to President Bush. So shut up, you cowardly know-it-all slanderer.