Police trapped victims in flooded and devastated city

[John Doe II]

Police from surrounding jurisdictions shut down several access points to one of the only ways out of New Orleans last week, effectively trapping victims of Hurricane Katrina in the flooded and devastated city.
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.

http://washtimes.com/upi/20050908-112433-4907r.htm
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3395977


Comment:

:wtf: :argh: :grr:

[halobeam]

1. I thought Shep Smith on his very famous Fox report

the one where he was freaking out about the "overpass people", said that it was FEMA who had a blockade.

Do we EVER get the same story? I'm so damn frustrated.

[Suich]

4. Different overpasses, maybe?

:shrug:

[CottonBear]

6. Shep did not know about the blockade at that time...n/t

[whistle]

2. How many of these stories and accounts by eyewitnesses

...are being buried in the hurricane devastated areas? The American public is being lied to.

[Big Kahuna]

3. Those cops have really earned the name "PIGS"

[bribri16]

5. No matter what is said, a lot of this stuff is related to racism. n/t

[madaboutharry]

7. The "authorities"

would not allow the black citizens to walk through the middle class white neighborhoods. There is no way to run from this sorry fact.

[bullimiami]

8. these evil bastards need to be tried for manslaughter and genocide.

they are a disgrace to humanity.

[SlowDownFast]

9. I just saw an interview on MSNBC with the Gretna chief

of police.

The fact of the matter is there was one way out on the west side of NO.

There were several ramps that led to the bridge going over to Gretna.

Multiple reports have it that the Gretna Police blocked the crossover.

They literally discharged firearms over the heads of people who tried to approach them. Some who did not fear them and tried to talk sense to them were reprimanded with racial slurs and told, "There'll be no Superdome over in Gretna."

MSNBC interviewed the Gretna Chief of Police tonite and hit him with some hard accusations but he fended them off under the explaination that Gretna had already been evacuated and they did allow an amount of traffic from NO which he said they bussed out until they finally shut the bridge down. He totally defended his actions, saying that in addition, if the levy busted on Gretna's side, he would have been responsible for NO residents heading that way.

I find it a poor excuse myself. I think his actions are reprehensible.

All they needed to do was take all the officers who blocked the bridge and place them at strategic points in order to deter looting and let them walk the fuck out out of NO. If he didn't have the resources to feed or water the masses, at least let them keep going out of NO, which was being flooded. It was a major roadway and route out. At least then, there might have been some more hope further down the line.

The bottom line was and is, he was trying to keep the "negroes" and "looters" from invading Gretna.

Shame on him.

edit: reposting on thread of it's own 'cause this is important and I have not seen a thread about this interview yet.

[slaveplanet]

10. thats exactly right

He's deflecting ... It iNOT Incompetence

they were trying to create a riot situation by design

[John Doe II]

11. Thanks for the info

Unbelievable.