From the Times-Picayune:
Acting New Orleans Police Superintendent Warren Riley said Thursday that as many as 40 officers from the department’s 3rd District, including the commanding captain, are “under scrutiny” for possibly bolting the city in the clutch and heading to Baton Rouge in Cadillacs from a New Orleans dealership.
“It is a subject that is under review,” Riley said, stopping short of saying he has launched a formal investigation. Asked if Capt. Donald Paisant, who replaced Capt. James Scott as the 3rd District commander, was a part of that review, Riley said, “Certainly the commander of that district is under scrutiny.”
Last week, after reports surfaced that the Louisiana attorney general’s office was investigating the alleged theft of about 200 cars from Sewell Cadillac Chevrolet, possibly by NOPD officers, Riley revealed his own internal investigations. All told, Riley said 12 officers were under investigation for looting or failing to combat looting in their presence, four officers had been suspended and one had been reassigned.
He acknowledged then that an unspecified number of officers were being looked at for their alleged involvement in the Sewell incident, which took place in the first four days after Katrina ripped through town.
Riley said he was surprised to learn that “at least 40” 3rd District officers were in Baton Rouge after the hurricane. Riley said that at some point after a number of 3rd District teams were rescued from the Louisiana State University Dental School he spoke to clumps of them at the Hampton Inn and Suites on Convention Center Boulevard.
“At that point they were just settling in for the evening,” he said. “A day or so later we learned they were in Baton Rouge, and they were immediately ordered to return to the city.”
I blame Michael Brown.
And so does Shepard Smith. Though I’m pretty sure he’s serious.
(h/t Craig Caughman)
You know, I don’t think a Hollywood script writer could have come up with something like the LA/NO Debacle. It just keeps getting better and better. If this were a movie script, it would have to win an Oscar. Best Comedy for sure.
It’s too bad that so many people will never get to see this show because the MSM, being an integral part of the plot, is going to bury all this good shit in the last paragraph of page B-18. Well, at least we’ll know that, not only did Bush personally suck out all the money from the pockets of the poor of NO in the last five years, but he also apparently was at the Cadillac dealership smiling and handing out keys to those with NOPD credentials. Something about the New Orleans/Cadillac Open, and all cops get free loaners for the week…
FUCKIN’ BUSHITLERMcCHIMPYHALLYBURTON!!! JUST HOW LOW WILL THIS MAN SINK???
Is it possible to get a refund from the Red Cross or have them send it Texas or Florida the next time this happens. I want my money back Michael Brown. Heh
Dog(lost)—Oh, this will be a movie, or at least a TV movie, probably written and produced by Dick Wolf, and the affected city will be a whitebread coastal burg with a Republican administration and all the failures will be the result of direct orders from the White House. All the looters and deserting city cops and workers will be white and all the noble victims will be people of color except for the crusading journalists…
Jimmy Smits will play Geraldo. A block of wood will play Shepherd Smith.
I heard Tony Snow say that as many as 500 of the 1700 officers don’t even exist. Does anyone know if this turned out to be true?
NO->PD
Gadzooks, hilarity cubed!
In a valiant attempt to compensate for the failed FEMA relief effort the NOPD made an emergency requistion of automobiles and dispatched a team to Baton Rouge to bring back relief supplies. They haven’t made it back yet due to FEMA’s failure to repair the roads, but were last reported shopping at Best Buy for big screen TV’s.
TW: think- As in I think it could’ve happened this way.
“Jimmy Smits will play Geraldo. A block of wood will play Shepherd Smith.”
And Amos ‘n’ Andy can play the mayor and the chief of police
We could get Jim Carey and Jeff Daniels to play Landreau and Blanco.
Scene one, intro music…
“bye bye Miss American pie, drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry”.
Nope, no self-inflicted stereotypes to see here, folks; move along, move along…
TW:”foreign”
not our biggest threat
When I first traveled to the New Orleans area to visit She Who Became My Wife™, my image of the NOPD had already been colored by that Dennis Quaid movie The Big Easy.
So, does art imitate life, or what?
So , What kind of wood will be playing Shep ? Birch, Hickery, Balsa ?
There is no wood dense enough to adequately portray Shepard Smith. Marble maybe. Although it’s hard to envision marble getting hysterical enough to scream into the camera like Geraldo after a bad weekend on the wrong end of a crack pipe.
The FBI is investigating the phantom NOPD cops; apparently “of the more than 500 screened so far, 84-percent don’t exist.”
John Podhoretz, August 31, 2005: “I think Shepherd Smith may go down in the annals of television history because of his astounding work this week as an anchor and descriptive reporter.”
Yes, his work astounds.
Which begs the question: If you put crepe hair on Podhoretz’s face, wouldn’t he misjudge events and look just like Sullivan?
“Like Sullivan?” Maybe Sullivan from Gilbert & Sullivan. Seeing that Smith is a Cracker, maybe some good ole Florida Iron Wood would be appropriate. Or maybe just cotton.
<i>John Podhoretz, August 31, 2005: “I think Shepherd Smith may go down in the annals of television history because of his astounding work this week as an anchor and descriptive reporter.†</i>
A misquote. What Podhoretz actually said was that
Smith would go “up the anus” of television history…
There’s nothing like a Coupe de Ville.
Whadda you mean, they don’t exist?
I’ll bet they vote!
alien grey,
Balsa wood I would think. Something light weight would be the perfect metaphor for ol’ Shep.
You know, with this story, and the 300+ alleged non-existent cops, and the looting by police, the video now of the 5 cops beating the shit out of the old drunk, and all of the alleged corruption and negligence of the local government regarding the levees and evacuation plans …..I’m starting to wonder if Cindy!’s ranting about occupied New Orleans was really hyperbole.
All the looters and deserting city cops and workers will be white and all the noble victims will be people of color except for the crusading journalists… As opposed to all the looters being black and all the noble victims being white? Because we know that good and evil, rigth and wrong come down right along racial lines.
Part of the reason this story was so big was that it played into conservative’s base racism, their fear that hordes of rampaging negroes/poor will be running the streets at the slightest provocation. It was their glorious “See?” moment. Unfortunately for them, as well as for those on the left that tried to make hay over the issue, it simply didn’t happen. No rapes and murders at the Superdome, no ‘snipers’ shooting at helicopters, just a corrupt, mismanaged city with no plan, and a federal government with a political crony in charge of emergency response, and people, black, white, and other, suffering because of it. No evil, just incompetence.
Are you fucking kidding me?
The press pushed this story. It was their preconceptions that drove this—together with the reports from the Mayor and the police chief. Both black.
Meanwhile, I posted my skepticism.
You are ass backwards. But then, that is hardly surprising from someone who presumes to jump into a thread by accusing the conservatives of “base racism” just so he can get away with attributing to them his own guilty thoughts about “rampaging negroes/poor.”
After all, it was that very thing that liberals were using to drive the agenda behind the story: the poor and black would necessarily act like animals because the gubmint didn’t do enough for them.
They were wrong. Most people acted like people, not like the “types” liberals rely on to push their grievance agenda.
Then to turn around and have the temerity to blame it on conservative racism. Jesus. How do you fucking tie your own shoes?
Birkenstocks don’t have laces.
He can’t tie his laces, but it’s all Bush’s fault.
Wow it’s grand to see how openminded the readership of this blog is and how accurate their assessments, gleaned from all of two small paragraphs, are. But it’s not about discourse or discussion is it; it’s about preaching to the converted and demonizing whomever disagrees.
I presumed nothing sir, I posted my opinion on a blog that allows public comments. The response however is the height of presumption, to impute and infer knowledge of myself or my motivations on scant evidence, and to attempt to impeach my opinions with ad hominems and insults based on those assumptions.
Nevertheless I stand by my statement. Conservatives have an issue with race. Regardless of the motivations of the MSM, rank and file conservatives swallowed the story whole. If you didn’t Mr Goldstein, then kudos to you. Nevertheless, that begs the questions that if the media had a sinister racist agenda for driving the story, what was the motivation for conservatives, who have made considerable hay over the last few years lambasting the media for it’s bias and inaccuracies, to give the media a free pass on this story, until it became obvious that it wasn’t true? If liberals were racists for running with it, where were the hordes of nonracist conservatives presuming man’s better nature saying “Hold on, Americans don’t act like this.” What was the motivation over all of the right wing forum posts/blog postings/ and comments about “we’re not racists but this wouldn’t have happened in a mostly white town”, “this highlights the difference in cultures” and “this proves that social programs don’t work”; almost exclusively it was analyzed as God’s on truth once the “terrible situation” was announced. For that matter, when Bush was deliberating over the SCOTUS pick, we learned that “diversity” is a dirty word to conservatives. And right on your blog, I’m castigated for suggesting that conservatives have a race problem, while my comment was in response to an individual that inferred that the evildoers were all black and the heroes lily white and that the media would twist the story to reflect the opposite. Since no one else called bullshit on the racial assignment of blame, one would have to assume that you and your readers agree with that view.
If it makes you feel better to belittle those who disagree with you, fine; it’s your life and your blog. But let me point something out. Unlike your characterization, the only guilt that I have is when I pull the lever for a Republican. I am a gun owning, Mercedes driving, well educated and paid, low tax loving, fundamentalist Christian, culturally I’ve got my blue state bonafides. Yet the racists that I have to share a cause with when I vote for the interest of this country often disgusts me. I’m not accusing every conservative of being a racist, but you have to recognize thata certain percentage of your base is. When I hear one guy spout neo-Confederate BS, it’s a nonsense, when it’s an article of faith among conservatives and libertarians, it’s a problem. The casual ease with which it enters the conversation and the quick umbrage if it’s challenged… you must be overly sensitive (or according to you, a Birkenstock wearing idiot incapable of tieing his own shoes). We’ll both see how well denying the issue works out long term.
Uh, you said, “Part of the reason this story was so big was that it played into conservative’s base racism, their fear that hordes of rampaging negroes/poor will be running the streets at the slightest provocation. It was their glorious “See?†moment.
That presumes a lot more than nothing.
Who gave it a free pass? I didn’t.
As to why others did, I speculated in one of my posts that, if anything, conservatives were MORE in a rush to appear upset and appalled because they were AFRAID of being called racist by people like you.
They thought it would win them points. Your comments prove it just reveals another layer of the conspiracy onion.
I’m not familiar with those—at least, not the racial aspect. I support the argument that had the town not been so dependent on the federal government—and its poor citizens taught to rely on federal bail outs—they’d have been better prepared to deal with the aftermath.
Uh, I guess you missed the irony there, but the commenter was referring to how the networks would likely frame a TV movie based on the story. It was tongue in cheek. It was the continuation of a joke laid out in preceeding commments.
But you’re right. To me, “diversity” as it’s currently deployed IS a dirty word. Which, if you take a few moments to search through my site and read my take on race, diversity, and identity politics, you’d see why. I submit my take on this issues is a bit more sophisticated than you likely believe.
But I’ll put my “race problems” up against your progressive views on race any time. I’m not at all fearful of debating race. And in fact I’ve openly called for it—when the issue arose DURING KATRINA.
Ah. So this is about you and your presumed moral superiority.
Well, I taught liberal arts in the university, have published scandelous fiction, and am a big admirer of 70s movies. Are my cultural bona fides up to task? The fact is, there are racists in both parties. But whereas the Republicans expelled Trent Lott (for the wrong reasons, in my opinion) and the White House castigated Bill Bennett (also wrong), the Dems want to give Bob Byrd a lifetime achievement award.
You came in here spouting off about conservatives and their base racism. I called you on it. YOu want to play the aggrieved, your choice.
And we’ll see how you feel when you realize that your entire prolonged attempt to pat yourself on the back was based on your careless misreading of a comment and an eagerness to show off your moral superiority.
Yes, I allow the public to comment. But I also expect them to do their homework first. Or else they’ll be greeted with the kind of scorn that your remarks called for.
Bush and the Republicans are racist because they won’t help the poor Negroes who can’t help themselves. It’s all so clear to me now.
Sorry about the Birkenstock crack by the way, I can see a man of your impeccable taste would never wear sandals. It would clash with the custom tailored hair shirt.
tw: analysis, would prove how far left the right continues to move
hey..i am not one to talk politics but…my uncle is donald paisant – the captain of the 3rd district. let me just say that the sewell cadillac thing was entirely blown out of proportion. everything the 3rd district had was entirely engulfed in water. they had lost everything! cars, radios, guns..clothes..etc.
we
were
in
a
state
of
emergency!
you can criticize all you want..but seriously think how much of panic you are in? you dont know if your house is okay..your family hasnt been able to reach you since the storm hit and you cant even get in touch with other districts or the captains!
the wrong wasnt about them taking the cars – people were breaking into sewell cadillic and when they found out..they went over there and took the cars. the owner of the sewell cadillac downtown knew one of the cops and told them where the keys were..hence them comadering the cars.
a lot of the cars were returned. my dad, is also a captain of the juvenile division. we had to drive a car from sewell because when we were evacuated from the police headquarters, the waters had already covered the entire basement where we’d have to go to drive the cars out. meaning we’d drive in water over our heads to get a car out –> impossible.
we were evacuated on a boat and dropped off at a convention center. at that time some of them went to get the cars.
SINCE they had no guns, radios, etc…the 3rd district stayed in the hampton inn for a while to regroup and get some stuff they procured from wal-mart. let me just say, the stuff they took was legit and necessary. i didnt see any of these guys stealign cds. they had a shit ton of food, clothes medicine and shoes. things you need to live! they went to baton rouge, got their shit together and were able to communicate from there with some other rank. they came back as soon as they got more guns, clothes and cars.
i jstu want you all to know..the media blew up shit for entertainment value.
seriously? the nopd is a great department. my dad has been on the job for 37 years. they have to deal with crowd control more than a lot of states do. we have the super dome and mardi gras. no one has that type of thing annually where crowd control is such an issue.
if you thought you could do better..than your ass should have been down here in it.
i was and it wasnt pretty. they protected a lot of people..while some sacrificed their lives.
one guy, paul accardo, committed suicide. he was a police officer and someone told him his parents were dead. he put a gun to his head when he found that out. better yet? his parents werent even dead. it was nothing but a communication error and now that man is dead. A LOT of what happened was a communication error- with the governemt.
i personally think Blanco and Nagin fucked up..and the media blames it on the cops.
Blanco should have sent the troops in earlier..and Nagin should have made a better plan. Overall they are to blame for fucking this city.
Especially Nagin, after the dumb comments he made about a Chocolate City. Yah. i’m sure the federal government will want to give us money now.
soooo anyways, thats my story.
Peace.