[MeanWestTexan]

Truth hurts.

[frankjr]

With a Cat 5 hurricane bearing down, nothing like locking your people directly in the path. Idiots!!!!

[dirtboy]

Cops trapped survivors in New Orleans

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."

Members of the group nonetheless approached the police lines, and "questioned why we couldn't cross the bridge ... They responded that the West Bank was not going to become New Orleans and there would be no Superdomes in their City.

"These were code words," the paramedics wrote, "for if you are poor and black, you are not crossing the Mississippi River and you were not getting out of New Orleans."

The authors say that during the course of that day, they saw "other families, individuals and groups make the same trip up the incline in an attempt to cross the bridge, only to be turned away. Some chased away with gunfire, others simply told no, others to be verbally berated and humiliated."

[mosquitobite]

"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."

How about protecting your citizens then, and just leaving a path straight THROUGH town? Unbelievable.

[NavySEAL F-16]

I sent this to Drudge about 20 minutes ago. It probably wouldn't hurt if everyone sent it to him.

This should be FRONT PAGE on Drudge!!

[wideawake]

And before the MSM goes off on Gretna, the town is only slightly more than 50% white and is more than 40% black and Hispanic.

So be skeptical of the race angle on this story.

[cyclotic]

That's one way to protect your city.

[moasicwolf]

This is turning into the FUBAR of the century.

[Pessimist]

Tough call there.

I can imagine his legitimate concern for how his city would have looked now. But still, if that city was more accesible to relief workers, etc...

Tough call.

[silverleaf]

Paging Governor Blank-O, Paging Governor Blank-O...wasn't that YOUR bridge a local cop shut down on his own?

[57chevypreterist]

http://www.barbneal.com/wav/ltunes/yosemite/Sam50.wav

[Fiddlstix]

BTTT

[plain talk]

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:

Pathetic editing job on this story. The issue is not that they closed the bridge during the hurricane on Monday (which they always do) but they kept it closed after the hurricane. That's the story but you couldn't tell it from reading this.

[newgeezer]

So, what. Was someone trying to get out of N.O.?

[Fred Hampton]

So where were all of those buses that the city had suppose to go even if they used them? I rather have another city pillaged than thousands dead.

[hipaatwo]

Already pissed off? This will only make it worse.

Ping

[deport]

The Crescent City Connection

At some point when a storm is approaching all bridges such as the above get shut down due to increases in the storm's rath.... I know they had warned of bridges being closed when the winds begin to pick up to a certain speed. I'm not sure if this is what this closure was about.

[gridlock]

OK. Racism may have had something to do with it...

[dfwgator]

Michael Brown's fault. </sarcasm>

[msnimje]

Every single sheriff and mayor of other cities in Louisiana knew what thugs ran the streets unimpeded in NO and they did not want that terror imported to their towns and cities.