New Orleans police chief defends officers

AP ^ | 9/5/5 | MELINDA DESLATTE

[SmithL]

BATON ROUGE, La. - Fed up with the criticism, New Orleans Police Superintendent Eddie Compass said Monday that his officers held their ground without food, water and even ammunition in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

"In the annals of history, no police department in the history of the world was asked to do what we (were) asked," Compass said with a mix of anger and pride.

Two police officers killed themselves. Another was shot in the head. Compass said 150 had to be rescued from eight feet of water and others had gotten infections from walking through the murky soup of chemicals and pollutants in flooded areas of the city.

Compass denied that police officers deserted in droves. Some officers had abandoned their jobs, he said, but he did not know how many. He said the department was doing a roll call.

At a news conference earlier Monday in New Orleans, Deputy Police Superintendent Warren Riley said between 400 and 500 officers on the 1,600-member police force are unaccounted for.

Some lost their homes and some are looking for their families. "Some simply left because they said they could not deal with the catastrophe," Riley said.

The officers still on the beat in the flooded city are being cycled off duty and given five-day vacations in Las Vegas and Atlanta, where they will be offered counseling, officials said.

Compass, visiting the emergency operations center in Baton Rouge on his first trip outside New Orleans since the storm hit, said New Orleans had police officers "who made the ultimate sacrifice for this city."

"We had no food. We had no water. We ran out of ammunition. We had no vehicles. We were fighting in waist deep water that was infected and polluted," he said.

Compass said the looting and criminal activity involved a small group of people preying on the weak after being thrust into evacuation areas with regular citizens.

As for reports that police stood by while women were raped and people were beaten, the chief responded: "Are you crazy? We did everything that was humanly possible to protect human life."

Without communication or lights, officers sometimes had to follow the traces of light made by fired weapons and physically wrest the guns from individuals' hands, Compass said. He said he did not know how many people were shot by police since Katrina came ashore.

When asked what he thought of federal and state officials' response to the storm, Compass did not offer criticism.

"I'm not a bureaucrat. I'm a police chief. Those type of questions I don't really answer," he said. "We needed more resources, but those resources didn't come."

[SmithL]

I'm OK, you're OK, everything is just fine.

[SouthernFreebird]

Geez, I would think city officials would of had a stash of supplies for just such emergencies.

[Archidamus]

To see New Orleans finest in action:

http://www.zippyvideos.com./8911023771013466/countdown-looting-in-walmart/

[Prost1]

"between 400 and 500 officers on the 1,600-member police force are unaccounted for"

I don't know, why ask me? I'm just the Police Chief. I don't know where they are or where they went. I don't know how many are on duty or available for duty. I'm just the Chief.

Ask Bush!

[csvset]

I take it that the Chief isn't about to comment on that video. I doubt if he'll ever be called on it either.

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

Unfortunately for this "whatever it is" people have eyes to see and ears to hear!

[Archidamus]

"At a news conference earlier Monday in New Orleans, Deputy Police Superintendent Warren Riley said between 400 and 500 officers on the 1,600-member police force are unaccounted for."

Check the Walmarts.

[Dog Gone]

They ran out of ammunition? The looting policemen ran out of ammunition?

Uh-oh.

[Archidamus]

"As for reports that police stood by while women were raped and people were beaten, the chief responded: "Are you crazy? We did everything that was humanly possible to protect human life."

They also did everything in their power to protect private property.

[Past Your Eyes]

"In the annals of history, no police department in the history of the world was asked to do what we (were) asked," Compass said with a mix of anger and pride. No, I suppose not. And no police department in the world that I know of has ever shown themselves to be so utterly incapable of doing their basic duties, either. I suppose the NYPD and FD might have said the same thing. But what a difference in the way they performed. Maybe it had something to do with their leadership?

[PeteB570]

And those two will be some of the first to get to Vegas for some R&R. It was soooo hard pushing that cart around Wal-Mart they will probably have to go on disability and worker's comp for thier back injuries.

[bethelgrad]

Walmart still sells ammo don't they?

[Parley Baer]

Hey Eddie howcome a good percentage of your force went awol? In you defence there were a good number of officers that were doing there job under trying circumstances. But to many were missing in action.

[Frustration]

that's funny, all I saw them do for days was loot stuff.

[VeniVidiVici]

They didn't desert in droves and yet fully one-third of them are unaccounted for.

And they ran out of ammunition?

Sorry, folks, but this statement just boggles the mind. And the MSM hasn't picked-up on it?

Can you imagine if the police chief were white?

[RichInOC]

[Compass] said the department was doing a roll call.

Do what? "Doing" a roll call? Present tense? A week after the storm?

[BushCountry]

They couldn't cross the bridge to get supplies!?!

This storm was a Eastbank event for New Orleans, not an Westbank event. There was very little wind damage from the storm on the west wall, the Westbank was relatively untouched (shingles still on most roofs), flooding was the problem. Since we are looking at possible transportation issues for those stranded at the Dome, see the image below.

However, besides plenty of buses (shown below), there were many water towers that were unaffected, tons of trucking centers with available trucks (hotwire if you need too) and supplies in warehouses that had a COMPLETELY DRY ROUTE TO THE DOME! Why didn't the Mayor/Governor use the resources available?

[PureSolace]

Walmart still sells ammo don't they?

My brother lives in Baton Rouge and he said he tried to top off his supply of ammo right when the refugees were ebing moved into town... He said WalMart turned him away and weren't selling guns or ammo to anyone cause of the situation there... The next night there were reports of gun stores and pawn shops being broken into a robbed.

[ken5050]

That's NOLA Police Commissioner Eddie ( lost my moral) Compass..to you..

[Jeff Gordon]

I think New Orleans is suffering from a LOT of bad karma.