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We Shut Down the Bridge
Washington Times & UPI via NRO ^ | Sep. 9, 2005 | Shaun Waterman

Posted on 09/09/2005 11:06:37 AM PDT by hipaatwo

Think local officials are less to blame for deaths in New Orleans than federal officials? In the most jaw-dropping story of the week, UPI has the police chief of Gretna, Louisiana, admitting that he closed off one of the major arteries out of New Orleans on Monday, before the storm hit:

"We shut down the bridge," Arthur Lawson, chief of the City of Gretna Police Department, confirmed to United Press International, adding that his jurisdiction had been "a closed and secure location" since before the storm hit.

"All our people had evacuated and we locked the city down," he said. The bridge in question -- the Crescent City Connection -- is the major artery heading west out of New Orleans across the Mississippi River.


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. If we had opened the bridge, our city would have looked like New Orleans does now: looted, burned and pillaged."


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: Louisiana
KEYWORDS: donutwatch; govwatch; gretna; hurricanekatrina; incompetence; katrina; katrinafailures; leftistcrap; neworleans; nimby; selfdefense; suburbanvictims; urbanbarbarians; yellowsnowdog
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To: Heyworth

With no troops on the scene it ain't martial law, is it?


381 posted on 09/09/2005 3:49:38 PM PDT by Wombat101 (Sanitized for YOUR protection...)
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To: MeanWestTexan

Know your neighbors.


382 posted on 09/09/2005 3:52:10 PM PDT by steveo (Member: Fathers Against Rude Television)
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To: Wombat101

Then don't use "martial law" as cover for what this guy did.


383 posted on 09/09/2005 3:54:02 PM PDT by Heyworth
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To: Heyworth

I'm not, I simply asked a question that the story posted failed to mention. Was there a declaration of martial law, and if so, does a local law enforcement official have the responsibility (not right) to continue to provide security until such time as troops arrive to take over?

I'm still of the mind that much of this mess could have been avoided if people were simply adequately prepared ahead of time to leave. The fact that many didn't merely tells me that their desire to leave was overwhelmed by their desire to take no responsibility for themselves.


384 posted on 09/09/2005 3:58:23 PM PDT by Wombat101 (Sanitized for YOUR protection...)
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To: mosquitobite

"Those people" were the people who were stopped from crossing the bridge and entering the fresh looting grounds of Gretna. Nothing more.


385 posted on 09/09/2005 4:04:39 PM PDT by Lancey Howard
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To: BurbankKarl
Well, since you're a newbie, and clearly never took GEOGRAPHY in high school, there's the bridge over Lake Pontchartrain for one. As far as I know, Mandeville didn't close THAT down.

Then there's 10 EAST. As far as I know, Slidell didn't close THAT bridge down, either.

And lastly, There's 10 WEST. There IS no bridge before you get to 51 North, so I ain't sure what your problem is.

GRETNA evacuated ALL of her citizens, and the cops just made sure no one headed SOUTH to loot the empty city..

386 posted on 09/09/2005 4:06:09 PM PDT by Experiment 6-2-6 (Previously known as Pookie Me, a Freeper since 7 September 1998. All who joined later are newbies!)
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To: Experiment 6-2-6

You can't shut down an evacuation route...that is criminal.

That guy should be drawn and quartered.


387 posted on 09/09/2005 4:07:56 PM PDT by BurbankKarl
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To: BurbankKarl

I remember, quite clearly, on 9/11 that every bridge and tunnel leaving Manhattan was closed to all vehiclular traffic. Foot traffic on those thoroughfares was closely monitored, as far as that was possible. I myself managed to get the last ferry out of Manhattan back to Staten Island that was permitted to carry passengers.

I wouldn't say the NYPD was criminal, would you?


388 posted on 09/09/2005 4:12:21 PM PDT by Wombat101 (Sanitized for YOUR protection...)
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To: BurbankKarl
When you go to law school, then you can determine what is or isn't criminal. Or better yet, get yerself elected to congress so that you can outlaw the "TO PROTECT" part of the to protect and serve...

Gretna is SOUTH of New Orleans. Everyone had evacuated. There was no reason to go there, other than to loot. No shelters, no food, nothing but the temptation to pillage, loot and burn. Just because you can't go South, does not mean they can't go EAST, WEST, OR NORTH.

The police of Gretna were doing what the Police of New Orleans were not. Protecting the town so that when their citizens returned, there would be a town left.

389 posted on 09/09/2005 4:14:25 PM PDT by Experiment 6-2-6 (Previously known as Pookie Me, a Freeper since 7 September 1998. All who joined later are newbies!)
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To: BurbankKarl

P.S. those bridges and tunnels stayed shut to everything except official/authorized traffic for six days. The same for the subways and trains.


390 posted on 09/09/2005 4:14:30 PM PDT by Wombat101 (Sanitized for YOUR protection...)
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To: Wombat101

It wasn't closed the night before.


391 posted on 09/09/2005 4:15:25 PM PDT by BurbankKarl
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To: Heyworth
Dang it! It was not inaccessible to anything other than foot traffic. Now that I think about this it makes perfect sense. BTW, the local government had access to hundreds of buses for transportation if they would have use available resourses.

How was the town with less than fifty standing police officers going to manage a crowd of 40,000 - 50,000 (a population greater than the town)?

If the small town didn't have the resources to care for this massive influx of hungry and angry people, where were they going to walk to next?

Where were these 40,000 - 50,000 people going to go on foot that would be safer then the surrounding area?

The local law enforcement and government which had a 100 times the resources couldn't provide care, what makes you think that this small squad of police officers could?

Next, I can show you tons of pictures of dry land near the Convention Center and Dome (see a few below)! If you want to get mad, aim your anger at the Local and State government!


392 posted on 09/09/2005 4:17:24 PM PDT by BushCountry (They say the world has become too complex for simple answers. They are wrong.)
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To: BurbankKarl

The night before meant nothing, since the Trade Center was attacked by airplanes, not a car bomb or an explosive delivered overland on 9/11. The bridges, tunnels and trains were closed as a precaution against further attacks.

The point, simply, is that in the event of an emergency, the government does what it thinks best, regardless of whether or not that is neatly covered by law or custom. The nature of the situation calls for some leeway in the application of what is legal and what isn't.

To this day, people entering their offices in Manhattan are stopped at the front door, have their baggage searched and walk through metal detectors. Is that legal? Not strictly, but it is prudent, don't you think?


393 posted on 09/09/2005 4:20:10 PM PDT by Wombat101 (Sanitized for YOUR protection...)
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To: Wombat101
How many people were shooting at you?

As they made their way to the bridge in order to leave the city "armed Gretna sheriffs (sic) formed a line across the foot of the bridge. Before we were close enough to speak, they began firing their weapons over our heads."

394 posted on 09/09/2005 4:25:49 PM PDT by BurbankKarl
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To: BurbankKarl

You can't shut down an evacuation route...that is criminal.



Many are closed when the winds get to a certain velocity... normal procedure in hurricane country whether you think it's criminal or not. Now what this guy did was stop movement after the storm.... I suspect that will be evaluated and dealt with in due course.


395 posted on 09/09/2005 4:27:52 PM PDT by deport
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To: Torie

I'd like to shut his lights out and I will do my damndest to do just that if I ever meet him.


396 posted on 09/09/2005 4:29:53 PM PDT by jwalsh07
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To: BurbankKarl

How many were shooting at me? Heck, I had an airliner pass over my friggin head before it slammed into the tallest building in New York City. Gunshots were the least of my worries. Had I not been under the overpass that connected 1 and 7 WTC when the plane hit, I might not be here.

And by the way, you'll note those shots were fired OVERHEAD and not AT OUR HEADS. There's a difference between a warning shot and firing into a crowd -- make the distinction.


397 posted on 09/09/2005 4:31:19 PM PDT by Wombat101 (Sanitized for YOUR protection...)
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To: wideawake
He was sworn to protect the citizens of his town and he probably felt, like a normal person, that Police Chief Compass should be in charge of protecting citizens of New Orleans.

Does this justify firing warning shots at people on a public highway? I wonder if they hit any of them. Just push them off the bridge. With so many dead, who would miss them?

398 posted on 09/09/2005 4:33:21 PM PDT by gitmo (Thanks, Mel. I needed that.)
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To: Wombat101

That is like the LSP turning away the technicians to fix the New Orleans trunked radio system. The state is closed, sorry, it's all George Bush's fault.


399 posted on 09/09/2005 4:38:06 PM PDT by BurbankKarl
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To: gitmo

Well, if they can suspend the 2nd Amendment in the largest city (formerly largest city), I guess they can shoot at evacuees too.



400 posted on 09/09/2005 4:39:12 PM PDT by BurbankKarl
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