Posted on 02/12/2006 10:28:13 AM PST by radar101
The California Highway Patrol plans to fire two officers after an internal investigation found they used their service weapons to shoot alligators while working in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, the CHP said Friday.
The CHP said the officers shot and killed at least one alligator and failed to report the firing of their weapons, as required by agency policy, said Fran Clader, a spokeswoman at CHP headquarters in Sacramento. The officers broke Louisiana law when they killed the animal, she said.
“This is an embarrassment to our department and especially to all our personnel who went to Louisiana and served honorably in helping the citizens of that state to recover from the clutches of disaster,” Clader said.
The department sent 116 Northern California officers to the state for two weeks after Hurricane Katrina struck Aug. 29, Clader said. They were relieved by a CHP contingent from Southern California.
The two officers are from the Sacramento area and were with Louisiana State Police troopers Sept. 13 when they shot at alligators in a New Orleans-area bayou, the CHP said.
Louisiana State Police referred calls to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, which is conducting a criminal investigation. That agency didn't respond to calls Friday for comment.
Clader said the length of the investigation was caused by the large number of witnesses in both states. She said the CHP wouldn't release the names of the officers while the criminal investigation is continuing.
The officers were placed on administrative leave pending their dismissal, but Clader declined to say whether they were being paid.
“Not reporting the discharge of a department firearm is a serious violation of policy, leading us to conclude termination is the appropriate action in this case,” she said.
Clader wouldn't elaborate on how many alligators the officers might have shot or whether the officers claimed to be acting in self-defense. She said she didn't know the specific types of guns that were used.
Dang, forgot the paragraphs.
GRRR!
Beat him down with their flashlights?
There are bayous in NO. One called St. John's Bayou runs right into the heart of midcity from the lake. I've seen alligators in there a number of times.
How do they explain witnesses in two states, unless they're talking about police that returned to CA. Thirteen days later, California police body slammed an old lady and took away her gun. I don't know if they lost their jobs, though.
http://www.nraila.org/News/Default.aspx
Oh yeah?
Alligator Balls Recipe
1 lb Chopped alligator meat
1 Egg
1 tb each Finely chopped onions - celery - parsley
2 tb Finely chopped shallots
2 ts Lemon pepper
1/2 ts Salt
1/4 c Bread crumbs
1 c Cooking oil
Flour to dredge
Combine all ingredients, form 1 inch diameter balls, allow to set one hour. Dredge in flour and fry till brown. Serve hot.
If you like it hot, substitute ground cayenne pepper for the lemon pepper.
Cut the top off of 4-6 bell peppers depending on size, remove the middle and all seeeds. Stuff full with same mix as above. Bake at 350 for about an hour until done.
And there is alligator jambalaya and etouffee, grilled alligator tail, and fried alligator tail po-boys, just to name a few.
MMMM-mmmm....
Did you know you can buy alligator tail at Walmart?
"Bayou" St John is a drainage canal and I know exactly where it runs, I used to live on Wilton drive.
No alligators in it.
Post Katrina streets = bayous. Mother natures way of saying, " get lost, people."
Seriously, what really ticks me off is people wanting to rebuild NOLA AND restoration of wetlands in the same thought.
"I've never known one to "come at me""
Maybe the gators in LA are not very aggressive. But the ones we have in SW Florida have no problem going after people. We had a big one swim right up to our 20 Hewes a few weeks ago on Shell Creek. He was definitely in a mode to "taste" anything dangling over. I wanted to put down the powerpole to see if he hit it, but reconsidered. What would I do if he did? He had NO FEAR at all.
Too bad they didn't shoot that "aligator guy" on TV.
No good deed goes unpunished.
"But the ones we have in SW Florida have no problem going after people."
Yeah, I've seen stories about that. They seem to be a little more aggressive there or maybe it's just FL probably has more people in close proximity to them.
"The only thing 'gators are good for is SHOES, BELTS, and LUGGAGE!!! "
I'll trade you 50,000 plague infested Prairie Dogs for a gator. You have to arrange shipping.
I haven't heard anything lately on that prarie dog/bubonic plague story. I believe it broke late last year.
Anything new on it?
CA....
They have regular outbreaks around here. The greenies have managed to get them protected locally and gush over their cuteness. They're vermin as far as I'm concerned and cause lots of damage.
Just in case anyone wants to know, the officers actually reported it to the supervisor themselves so there really was no need for an investigation. After they did it, they felt they should tell. Oh and by the way did it matter to anyone that they also found a group of people in a rest home and helped evacuate them. Did they care that these outstanding officers left their families behind to help out people. Did you know they also risked their lives. Did you know they would do it all again to help as many as possible because this is the type of person they are. I am related to one of them so of course my view is completely biased (NOT) I say anyone who leaves their family behind, risks their own life, saves many people, lives in terrible conditions, and the only thing they did wrong was shoot an alligator, is the kind of person I would want to see more of. Maybe if these white cops would have beaten a black man on the streets they would have been better off than shooting an alligator. Right, these men would not have treated anyone wrong, the one I know also helped out during the Los Angeles riots. I am proud to be related to him.
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