Police Kill Five on La. Bridge(UPDATE CONTRACTORS WERE SHOT AT: THE NOPD shot BAD GUYS)

CNN, AP BREAKING ^

[Chucky is a girlie man]

New Orleans PD shot contractors - not thugs - on bridge

Mod point of clarification: The first 100 or so replies below were posted in reaction to reports that the contractors had been fatally shot.

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Mod Update

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The Associated Press
Police shot and killed at least five people Sunday after gunmen opened fire on a group of contractors traveling across a bridge on their way to make repairs, authorities said.

Deputy Police Chief W.J. Riley said police shot at eight people carrying guns, killing five or six.

Fourteen contractors were traveling across the Danziger Bridge under police escort when they came under fire, said John Hall, a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers.

They were on their way to launch barges into Lake Pontchartrain to help plug the breech in the 17th Street Canal, Hall said.

None of the contractors was killed, Hall said.

The bridge spans a canal connecting Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River.

No other details were immediately available.

[cardinal4]

Ok, maybe he wasnt playing soccer, he was playing football!

[wimpycat]

They got their 'confirmation' from an official source, the CoE. The AP didn't "lie". A lie implies an intent to deceive. The AP's problem was that they wanted to be first with the story and didn't wait for more accurate information. The CoE should have waited for more facts before making their statement, too.

[squarebarb]

Apologies.

[LibertyRocks]

The CORPS guy who was on stated they had armed security accompanying the contractors, but he wasn't sure which organization/group supplied the security.
(However, one might deduce from the articles that it was the NOPD on this particular detail - but that is not official as of yet.)

[ScreamingFist]

Apologies.

And my apologies also, it's been a long day S.B.

[JellyJam]

Our very own war zone.

[uncbob]

I was hoping the scumbags would have ended up killing each other over the stolen loot

[Jim_Curtis]

I don't think the AP "lied" about it, nor did the CoE

That assumes that AP didn't lie about what the source said, if they even had a CoE source.

If they have constructed the perception that all of those people who stayed in NO are victims of Bush...reporting that some of them are shooting at the people who are there to save them can really damage a carefully crafted perception.

[angkor]

one might deduce from the articles that it was the NOPD on this particular detail

DoD likes to keep things in-house when it comes to DoD employees, including the Corps Of Engineers.

[nicmarlo]

The AP's problem was that they wanted to be first with the story and didn't wait for more accurate information. The CoE should have waited for more facts before making their statement, too.

I agree with the above; I'm not giving the AP a pass on their intentions to deceive in their news reports, however; they proven themselves to have a bias, and that influences how they operate, what they report, how quickly they rush to print, how likely they are to investigate further before rushing to be "first."

[angkor]

That assumes that AP didn't lie about what the source said, if they even had a CoE source.

I agree.

This is so egregious that I don't actually believe AP had a legitimate source.

AP lied.

[uncbob]

(However, one might deduce from the articles that it was the NOPD on this particular detail - but that is not official as of yet.)

After a week of this BS and their own homes probably destroyed and who knows where their families are I am surprised the have enough enegry to even work the job as a cop

[Dad yer funny]

hey MFH , I just got home after working all day , any definite number of how many NOPD turned in their badges??

[wardaddy]

finally.....hang them from pikes with beware placards around their necks like the Newgate of lore

[angkor]

They got their 'confirmation' from an official source, the CoE.

Really?

Who?

What is the name of the "official source"?

[DCMB]

Thanks for a great laugh. The pics of JF'nK are the best.

[LibertyRocks]

I did think it odd the PD protecting a military related group, but who knows? The CORPS guy said to wait for the police reports, for more information.

[My Favorite Headache]

Last I heard it was over 50% for certain.

[LibertyRocks]

I know I'd be rather tired and stressed out. I think everyone responding is suffering from this tragedy as well.