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."
I'm talking about foot traffic only.
The cannot even get the Direction of the Bridge traffic out of New Orleans correct!
It runs in the family in NO politics.
Well, the question's been raised and it needs an answer.
"They sure did let the media in and out, didn't they....."
Actually, I though I read they'd let vehicle traffic in and out, just not pedestrian traffic. I suppose the rationale was that if you were on foot, you were just going to end up hanging out in Gretna rather than passing through.
I am not that familiar with the layout of New Orleans, so someone help me here, but does anyone remember the night that Shep Smith was going crazy because the people on the bridge where he had been reporting were not getting food or water? He said several times that the people could not get out via the bridge because if they went one way it was under water and if they tried they other direction it was blocked off. Is this bridge in the same general location? If so, Fox should know a little about it. We need to research this.
The people were attempting to cross on foot.
Buses were coming and going.
Quit trying to spin this. I agree there might be more to this story. But your attempts to explain this don't fit the facts so far.
What is the Question?
The Direction of the Bridge?
They don't fit Lawson's quote, either.
However, the NOPD were nowhere to be found and and the buses were left to sink in their lots.
I did not buy their swill.
Of when and why the bridge was closed.
I thought only liberals pulled that kind of crap.
Now let me get this straignt. A seasoned law enforcement officer and his staff were unable to detect a slight difference between A. A family with children, and B. Elderly people, and C. Young thugs. Surely they could have at least made some judgement calls about letting some people over the bridge? Wonder how he handles the day to day 'law enforcement' in his fair city. Morons one and all.
How did they pool together $25,000?
Check out #58
Works for me :)
The Gretna police chief probably had no idea that the NOPD would never get the situation under control.
He was trying to keep the lawlessness from spreading and he probably saved lives.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.