The biggest disasters in NO.
Posted on 08/21/2006 8:04:16 AM PDT by gopwinsin04
New Orleans police chief during Hurricane Katrina, Eddie Compass, says he unnecessarily "heightened people's fears" by repeating unconfirmed reports of out-of-control crime in the city during the aftermath of the storm, adding to the confusion caused by the disaster and potentially hampering rescue efforts.
"There were reports of rapes and children being raped. I even got one report … that my daughter was raped," Mr. Compass says in a Spike Lee documentary scheduled to air on HBO tonight.
"In hindsight, I guess I heightened people's fears by me being the superintendent of police, reporting these things that were reported to me," Mr Compass said. "But there was really no way for me to check definitively. So I repeated these things without being substantiated, and it caused a lot of problems."
Officials and local commentators have long suggested that the false reports of rampant crime following the hurricane were a reason for the slowness of rescue efforts. With recovery teams and humanitarian aid groups frightened to enter the city, many storm survivors were left stranded on roofs without food and water, in makeshift rafts, and in filthy conditions at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
In part due to the trumped-up crime reports, officials in a neighboring town — fearing the chaos would spread — responded by ordering police to shoot any evacuee who attempted to cross the Crescent City Connection bridge into the city of Gretna from New Orleans.
"I'm going to tell you that during that storm, the national media reported rampant rumors that have now turned out not to be true. … And people were terrified," Louisiana's lieutenant governor, Mitch Landrieu, says in the film.
"In my estimation, that Gretna thing was a way overreaction to rampant rumors that were being pushed in the mainstream media," he adds.
(Excerpt) Read more at nysun.com ...
He is right - the worst enemy of those trying to maintain order in the Superdome was handheld radios.
Hey, Chief Eddie, great police work!
Can't wait for the next black hurricane sent by Karl Rove and President Bush!
The biggest disasters in NO.
I like how the only people effected by Katrina were blacks in NOLA....
'black hurricane' lmao
Media Schadenfreude and Media Shenanigans
The false reports didn't keep a journalist who repeated such incorrect detail from getting a Pulitzer Prize.
The retractions need to be louder.
Photoshop the governor's face in there and you've got the Three Stooges.
I'd like to personally B*tch slap Sheppard Smith for his part in it.. actually, I have never liked that twerp, I'd like to slap him upside the head just for being himself.
Live thread, anyone?
I want to know why the headline doesn't read "FORMER POLICE CHEIF"?
He lied about THAT, just like he LIED when he said he did not steal 1,000's of guns from the law abiding. But what can one expect from Chocolate City?
You take Shep, I get Jerry Rivers.
Add Anderson Cooper to the hall of shame.
"The post Katrina aftermath was largely a myth."
Really? You know, I have read that a lot on FR. I'm of the opinion that the real "myth" is the unprecendented occurence of the media "slapping it's own hand" on this one.
I've yet to speak to anyone who was actually there who would tell you they lived a "myth".
I am confused, as one who lives 75 miles east of New Orleans, (Mississippi), how this man can lie and said none of this was true. Not only were their rapes, in hospitals of their staff, and stealing drugs from the hospitals, they, the thugs, stayed behind to loot, pillage and plunder. They were in fact, shooting at relief personnel, firefighters, police, hence, some leaving, UNTIL the military came in and blew them away, even while shooting from inside of the brick buildings. The powers that be in New Orleans did in fact recieve billions from our government and have as of yet dispursed said funds. The only decent people left in New Orleans are some business owners, and locals around the Garden District. It is a literal ghost town. BUT NOT AS A FAULT OF OUR GOVERNMENT.
Makes good airplay though, and imagine if a white Nagen made those statements recently, what would happen. He should be in jail along with the gov.
I still can see Shep having a fit about babies dying at the convention center.
All rumors reported as truth.
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.