I saw on CNN one NO police officer PUBLICLY BLAST his fellow officers who had fled, calling them COWARDS and unworthy to wear the badge, because they swore to protect and serve the people of New Orleans and did not. It was great. Shocked the Commie Network aired it.
They were too busy looting to bother with saving lives.
bump
I just left a baseball game in OKC and sat in front of an FBI agent and talked with him during the game. According to him, NO police dept is authorized 2100 officers. Before the storm, normal attrition had reduced the force to 1800 active officers on duty. He stated there are now less than 800 NOPD officers (1000+ have quit). Many have just walked off the job and disappeared. Others have joined the street gangs. Federal law enforcement is heavily involved and many of the NOPD will be in jail when it is all over. Federal SWAT teams have been operating for several days and "taking out the trash". He says there is much going on behind the scenes that most people will never know about, but the house cleaning has been underway for several days and progress has been substantial
regards - red
**When it became apparent that disorder in New Orleans should be the most immediate priority, the National Guard waited until they had enough forces in hand to make an overwhelming show of force, he said.**
BTTT!
They cannot blame the Guard or the President. There are so many other factors involved -- such as this one!
Bull. Anyone who knew anything about the NOPD did. And the mayor sure should have. And Nagin should never have bugged out to Baton Rouge. I wonder if any of the higher ups in the NOPD went with him?
From an article written sometime Sunday or Monday:
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/stormcenter/2005-08-28-katrina-gulf_x.htm
Terry Ebbert, New Orleans director of homeland security, said more than 4,000 National Guardsmen were mobilizing in Memphis and will help police New Orleans streets.
They had 4,000 troops on standby on SUNDAY to help police New Orleans. What happened to these troops???
Also working against the city's best interests was a "residency requirement" stipulating that police and firefighters must live within the city limits in order to be considered for promotions. When the requirement was codified into law during Marc Morial's administration, it forbade the hiring of non-residents to all "unclassified" (non-civil service) city jobs, in addition to police and firemen. Civil service position holders who were working for the city prior to the law were "grandfathered in" but they could not be promoted until they could prove they had established residence within the city limits. PANO and other organizations representing police and firefighters fought hard against the residency requirement, but they were outgunned by Marc Morial and numerous powerful community groups.
Thus was the stage set for the scenario that was to follow. In order to beef up the rapidly dwindling numbers of NOPD, the department was forced to lower its acceptance standards. Recruits with criminal records, DWIs, unfavorable employment records and dishonorable discharges from the Armed Forces were allowed to enter the Police Academy, whereas they had previously been excluded. A number of these new recruits had been charged with violent crimes as serious as armed robbery and rape. Some were openly recruited from the projects and off the street with no prior experience with the law, other than being on the receiving end of its consequences. Their records were expunged and, on completion of their training, they were issued badges, guns and patrol cars and turned loose on the street.
In so doing, many of these new officers were expected to suddenly straighten up and begin enforcing the laws they had not-so-long-ago been breaking. They were expected to arrest those suspected of crimes, even if those accused had once been their street buddies. But this was an unrealistic expectation. Old loyalties and old habits die hard. Some of these new officers remained loyal to those who had been their partners in crime and they continued their old ways and associations. And, given the level of corruption to which the department had already descended by this time, the ground was well-seeded to breed further corruption.