Of all of disturbing stories of overt racism emanating from New Orleans in Katrina's wake, this report of a suburban police chief ordering his troops to fire into the air to dissuade New Orleanians (primarily African-American, and a couple San Francisco paramedics) from escaping New Orleans could be the most disturbing. But, to steal a line from just about every Marx Brothers movie made, "It's early yet."
Cops trapped survivors in New Orleans
By Shaun Waterman
UPI Homeland and National Security Editor
Sep. 9, 2005 at 10:48AM
An eyewitness account from two San Francisco paramedics posted on an internet site for Emergency Medical Services specialists says, "Thousands of New Orleaners were prevented and prohibited from self-evacuating the city on foot."
"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.
Lawson said that once the storm itself had passed Monday, police from Gretna City, Jefferson Parrish and the Louisiana State Crescent City Connection Police Department closed to foot traffic the three access points to the bridge closest to the West Bank of the 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." (emphasis added)
But -- in an example of the chaos that continued to beset survivors of the storm long after it had passed -- even as Lawson's men were closing the bridge, authorities in New Orleans were telling people that it was only way out of the city.
But -- in an example of the chaos that continued to beset survivors of the storm long after it had passed -- even as Lawson's men were closing the bridge, authorities in New Orleans were telling people that it was only way out of the city.
"The only way people can leave the city of New Orleans is to get on (the) Crescent City Connection ... authorities said," reads a Tuesday morning posting on the Web site of the New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper, which kept reporting through the storm and the ruinous flooding that followed.
Read the story here.
4 comments:
Speaking of ignorant racists, how about the comments of Barbara Bush, Tom Delay U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, and Baton Rouge, LA Congressman Rep. Richard Baker?
Barbara Bush, during a visit to the Astrodome: "So many of the people here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them."
Tom DeLay, chatting with a couple of young evacuees who are now living in a tent in Houston: "Now tell me the truth boys, is this kind of fun?"
Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA), commenting on those who dis not evacuate NO: "There may be a need to look at tougher penalties on those who decide to ride it out and understand that there are consequences to not leaving."
Rep. Richard Baker (R-Baton Rouge), laughing it up with his lobbyist pals about one of the silver linings from Katrina's destruction of New Orleans: "We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn't do it, but God did."
How about the fact that they did BURN LOOT PILLAGE AND RAPE and this little community was trying to protect themselves from that, what they did, the people of New Orleans is well documented. Cresent City had no way to control the situation that would have developed. Self Preservation sucks people get hurt maybe killed. Where is the line, I have been in tough situations sometimes they require tough response. I believe the Police Chief did his best to protect his community the people that were paying him to protect them. He was simply doing his job. Why is it that when New Orleans screws up someone wants to lay blame on a little guy doing his job? This idea is absurd and misplaced.
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test again since Its been a while
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