Cops trapped survivors in New Orleans

And this has something to do with rec.autos.driving topics exactly how?


"Hardpan" > wrote in message
...
> More on the story about why so few got out of New Orleans after
> Katrina.
>
> Cops trapped survivors in New Orleans
> http://www.washtimes.com/upi/20050908-112433-4907r.htm
>
> By Shaun Waterman
>
> UPI Homeland and National Security Editor
>
> Sep. 9, 2005 at 10:48AM
>
> 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.
> 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."
>
> 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.
>
> Similar announcements appeared on the Web site of local radio station
> WDSU and other local news sources.
>
> "Evidently, someone on the ground (in New Orleans) was telling people
> there was transport here, or food or shelter," said Lawson. "There
> wasn't."
>
> SNIP
>
> XXXX
>
>
> Police Trapped Thousands in New Orleans
> http://www.cadenhead.org/workbench/news/2748
>
> As the situation grew steadily worse in New Orleans last week, you
> might have wondered why people didn't just leave on foot. The
> Louisiana Superdome is less than two miles from a bridge that leads
> over the Mississippi River out of the city.
>
> The answer: Any crowd that tried to do so was met by suburban police,
> some of whom fired guns to disperse the group and seized their water.
>
> Around 500 people stuck in downtown New Orleans after the storm banded
> together for self-preservation, making sure the oldest and youngest
> among them were taken care of before looking after their own needs.
>
> Two San Francisco paramedics who were staying in the French Quarter
> for a convention have written a first-hand account that describes
> their appalling treatment at the hands of Louisiana police, a story
> confirmed today by the San Francisco Chronicle, UPI, and St. Louis
> Post-Dispatch.
>
> When buses charted by the group to escape New Orleans never showed up,
> they camped out beside a police command center on Canal Street,
> believing it was the best place to get aid, protection, and
> information. They were told they could not stay there and should leave
> the city on foot over Highway 90, which crosses the Mississippi River
> from New Orleans to the suburb of Gretna, a city of 17,500 people.
>
> Running out of food and water, they walked to the bridge, growing in
> number to around 800 people as word spread of a safe way out:
>
> As we approached the bridge, armed Gretna sheriffs formed a line
> across the foot of the bridge. Before we were close enough to speak,
> they began firing their weapons over our heads. This sent the crowd
> fleeing in various directions. As the crowd scattered and dissipated,
> a few of us inched forward and managed to engage some of the sheriffs
> in conversation. We told them of our conversation with the police
> commander and of the commander's assurances. The sheriffs informed us
> there were no buses waiting. The commander had lied to us to get us to
> move.
>
> We questioned why we couldn't cross the bridge anyway, especially as
> there was little traffic on the 6-lane highway. They responded that
> the West Bank was not going to become New Orleans and there would be
> no Superdomes in their City.
>
> In an interview with UPI, Gretna Police Chief Arthur Lawson confirmed
> that his department shut down the bridge to pedestrians: "If we had
> opened the bridge, our city would have looked like New Orleans does
> now: looted, burned and pillaged."
>
> The increasingly desperate group set up camp on the New Orleans side
> of the bridge, where they were seen by several media outlets, until
> they were chased off at gunpoint by Gretna police:
>
> Reduced to a small group of 8 people, in the dark, we sought refuge in
> an abandoned school bus, under the freeway on Cilo Street. We were
> hiding from possible criminal elements but equally and definitely, we
> were hiding from the police and sheriffs with their martial law,
> curfew and shoot-to-kill policies.
>
> The paramedics believe that race played a factor in the decision to
> block evacuees on foot. Gretna's population is 56 percent white and 36
> percent black, according to the 2000 U.S. Census.
>
>
>

On Fri, 9 Sep 2005 22:13:51 -0400, "James C. Reeves"
> wrote:

>And this has something to do with rec.autos.driving topics exactly how?

Strike 1: Responding to an obvious troll.
Strike 2: Top-posting.
Strike 3: Needlessly quoting 140 lines of off-topic crap.

Three strikes, you're PLONKed.

"Scott en Aztlán" > wrote in message
...
> On Fri, 9 Sep 2005 22:13:51 -0400, "James C. Reeves"
> > wrote:
>
> >And this has something to do with rec.autos.driving topics exactly how?
>
> Strike 1: Responding to an obvious troll.

LOL.... If people in this group _didn't_ respond to obvious trolls, the posts
would total about 7 per day.
--
John C.

"Hardpan" > wrote in message
...
> On Sat, 10 Sep 2005 11:20:13 -0700, enialle
> > wrote:
>
>>On Fri, 09 Sep 2005 21:06:59 GMT, Hardpan > wrote:
>>
>>>More on the story about why so few got out of New Orleans after
>>>Katrina.
>>
>>This is what racism is all about.
>
> Word !!!
>
> If these were White crackers that were needing rescue, these pigs
> would have been doing something besides trapping survivors and
> talking their guns by force.
>
> I guess its time for the revolution we should have had back in 1970
> after Kent State !!!
>
> ****ing badge-wearing assholes kill innocent people and no one does a
> thing about it!!!
>
>
>
>
>
>>>Cops trapped survivors in New Orleans
>>>http://www.washtimes.com/upi/20050908-112433-4907r.htm
>>>
>>>By Shaun Waterman
>>>
>>>UPI Homeland and National Security Editor
>>>
>>>Sep. 9, 2005 at 10:48AM
>>>
>>>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.
>>>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."
>>>
>>>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.
>>>
>>>Similar announcements appeared on the Web site of local radio station
>>>WDSU and other local news sources.
>>>
>>>"Evidently, someone on the ground (in New Orleans) was telling people
>>>there was transport here, or food or shelter," said Lawson. "There
>>>wasn't."
>>>
>>>SNIP
>>>
>>>XXXX
>>>
>>>
>>>Police Trapped Thousands in New Orleans
>>>http://www.cadenhead.org/workbench/news/2748
>>>
>>>As the situation grew steadily worse in New Orleans last week, you
>>>might have wondered why people didn't just leave on foot. The
>>>Louisiana Superdome is less than two miles from a bridge that leads
>>>over the Mississippi River out of the city.
>>>
>>>The answer: Any crowd that tried to do so was met by suburban police,
>>>some of whom fired guns to disperse the group and seized their water.
>>>
>>>Around 500 people stuck in downtown New Orleans after the storm banded
>>>together for self-preservation, making sure the oldest and youngest
>>>among them were taken care of before looking after their own needs.
>>>
>>>Two San Francisco paramedics who were staying in the French Quarter
>>>for a convention have written a first-hand account that describes
>>>their appalling treatment at the hands of Louisiana police, a story
>>>confirmed today by the San Francisco Chronicle, UPI, and St. Louis
>>>Post-Dispatch.
>>>
>>>When buses charted by the group to escape New Orleans never showed up,
>>>they camped out beside a police command center on Canal Street,
>>>believing it was the best place to get aid, protection, and
>>>information. They were told they could not stay there and should leave
>>>the city on foot over Highway 90, which crosses the Mississippi River
>>>from New Orleans to the suburb of Gretna, a city of 17,500 people.
>>>
>>>Running out of food and water, they walked to the bridge, growing in
>>>number to around 800 people as word spread of a safe way out:
>>>
>>>As we approached the bridge, armed Gretna sheriffs formed a line
>>>across the foot of the bridge. Before we were close enough to speak,
>>>they began firing their weapons over our heads. This sent the crowd
>>>fleeing in various directions. As the crowd scattered and dissipated,
>>>a few of us inched forward and managed to engage some of the sheriffs
>>>in conversation. We told them of our conversation with the police
>>>commander and of the commander's assurances. The sheriffs informed us
>>>there were no buses waiting. The commander had lied to us to get us to
>>>move.
>>>
>>>We questioned why we couldn't cross the bridge anyway, especially as
>>>there was little traffic on the 6-lane highway. They responded that
>>>the West Bank was not going to become New Orleans and there would be
>>>no Superdomes in their City.
>>>
>>>In an interview with UPI, Gretna Police Chief Arthur Lawson confirmed
>>>that his department shut down the bridge to pedestrians: "If we had
>>>opened the bridge, our city would have looked like New Orleans does
>>>now: looted, burned and pillaged."
>>>
>>>The increasingly desperate group set up camp on the New Orleans side
>>>of the bridge, where they were seen by several media outlets, until
>>>they were chased off at gunpoint by Gretna police:
>>>
>>>Reduced to a small group of 8 people, in the dark, we sought refuge in
>>>an abandoned school bus, under the freeway on Cilo Street. We were
>>>hiding from possible criminal elements but equally and definitely, we
>>>were hiding from the police and sheriffs with their martial law,
>>>curfew and shoot-to-kill policies.
>>>
>>>The paramedics believe that race played a factor in the decision to
>>>block evacuees on foot. Gretna's population is 56 percent white and 36
>>>percent black, according to the 2000 U.S. Census.
>>>
>>>
>


Harpan your a dickhead enjoy the killfile

Dave

On Sat, 10 Sep 2005 11:20:13 -0700, enialle
> wrote:

>On Fri, 09 Sep 2005 21:06:59 GMT, Hardpan > wrote:
>
>>More on the story about why so few got out of New Orleans after
>>Katrina.
>
>This is what racism is all about.
>>
>>Cops trapped survivors in New Orleans
>>http://www.washtimes.com/upi/20050908-112433-4907r.htm

It has nothing to do with racism. It has everything to do with
keeping looters out of the city.

DTJ wrote:

> It has nothing to do with racism. It has everything to do with
> keeping looters out of the city.

They would have stopped your stupid ass too had you been there
as a tourist.

DTJ > wrote:
>On Sat, 10 Sep 2005 11:20:13 -0700, enialle
> wrote:
>>On Fri, 09 Sep 2005 21:06:59 GMT, Hardpan > wrote:
>>>More on the story about why so few got out of New Orleans after Katrina.
>>This is what racism is all about.
>>>Cops trapped survivors in New Orleans
>>>http://www.washtimes.com/upi/20050908-112433-4907r.htm
>It has nothing to do with racism. It has everything to do with
>keeping looters out of the city.

Yeah. I'd bet you even believe that. White people "find."
Black people "loot." And Christian butchers laugh about it.

---
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"After all, there's more to this world than tits." - Uncle Vic

"Alpha" > wrote in message
...
>

>
> Harpan your a dickhead enjoy the killfile
>
> Dave

Yeah, what he said!

--
Scott

As a patriotic American liberal, I will not attempt to 'understand' the
terrorists, or 'explain' their behavior, or blame their victims. Instead, I
will recognize that the United States, while far from perfect, is the most
progressive and inclusive society in the history of the world. - Sherman
Alexie