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Posted: 9/5/2005 8:15:43 AM EDT
Just curious, why in NO?
Link Posted: 9/5/2005 8:20:39 AM EDT
[#1]
Probably because of the complete and total lack of post-disastor leadership.  Nobody took charge, they just stood around playing the blame-game on CNN.
Link Posted: 9/5/2005 8:20:50 AM EDT
[#2]
Well I'm not sure if I could say how many suicides or resignations in NYPD were due to 9/11, I think one of the reasons you're apt to see more of it in NOLA is that for the most part that in NOLA, the disaster hit home with families and where they live far more than it did for us here.  We lost comrades and friends on a scale we had never seen before, which was horrible; but down there they feel like they are losing their entire lives, families, and homes.  Just my .02.
Link Posted: 9/5/2005 8:24:37 AM EDT
[#3]
The police working to help the 9/11 victims had homes to go back to.  Many of the NOPD do not.
Link Posted: 9/5/2005 8:32:47 AM EDT
[#4]
I might be wrong, and mean no disrespect, but it seemed that on 9/11 everyone was working together, and the complete opposite is happening down there.  But I am no expert, just an armchair quarterback.
Link Posted: 9/5/2005 8:34:01 AM EDT
[#5]
It's the whole damn city of NO not just a part of town like 9/11 was in Manhattan.

As a native son of New Orleans and coincidently a cop now living in Florida, my heart broke when I caught the first images coming out of  the city. I walked out of my precinct where we were watching Fox video of the damage and flooding, got in my cruiser and cried.
If it affected me the way it did it must be a million times worse for the native cops living it. Yeah I understand how they could be killing themselves. The numbers of suicides among NOLA cops is going to be devastating in the coming months.
Link Posted: 9/5/2005 8:41:42 AM EDT
[#6]
Their situation is unimaginable.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/04/katrina.police.ap/index.html

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- There may be no better way to explain the desperation on the city's ravaged streets than this: In the past few days, two police officers took their own lives and dozens have turned in their badges.

New Orleans Deputy Police Chief W.J. Riley on Sunday identified two officers who committed suicide as Sgt. Paul Accardo, the department's spokesman, and Patrolman Lawrence Celestine. He called both "outstanding cops" and friends.

"Both of them," he said, shaking his head slowly. "Used their own guns."

Several dozen of the city's 1,600 police officers have failed to report for duty, and some have turned in their badges.

Published reports put the number as high as 200, but Riley declined to comment on those figures, saying more than 100 officers may have been trapped in their own homes or unable to reach command centers.

"We just don't know," he said, standing outside a downtown command center set up in the driveway of Harrah's casino.

But a moment later, Riley motioned back in the direction where several dozen heavily armed officers milled around, eating and smoking. He said he didn't care -- not at the moment.

"We still have at least a thousand policemen out here trying to rescue people and take back the city. I don't know what's in their minds. I don't know what gives the others out here their adrenaline, what gives them their push."

On top of the burdens of law enforcement, officers have had to forage for food and water and even for places to relieve themselves.

"Our officers have been urinating and defecating in the basement of Harrah's Casino," Police Superintendent Eddie Compass said last week. "They have been going in stores to feed themselves."

They also have had to deal with personal losses.

"What's affected most of our officers is they don't know where their wives or kids are. They don't have homes. ... They don't have anything," Riley said.

That sentiment was echoed by Capt. Kevin Anderson, commander of the 8th District, which includes the fabled French Quarter.

"It hurts to the heart, but I don't have the luxury of dwelling on who's not here. "We'll welcome them back with open arms maybe someday. But that day ain't today."

Exhaustion was evident in the officers' faces and even their dress. Many were wearing T-shirts and blue jeans brought in by fellow officers.

"We're having to find clothes for some," Riley said. "The only reason I'm dressed in a uniform is that I didn't lose my house."

Some police who remained on the job expressed outrage that some of their fellow officers abandoned the city when it most needed law and order.

"This is our area," said one officer, who spoke on the condition that he not be identified because he feared retribution from commanders. "I was raised in this town. I'm not giving this city up. Police are turning in their badges and running away."

Officers also have struggled with the emotional impact of the devastation.

"The most stressing part is seeing the citizens we serve every day being treated like refugees," Riley said. "There were cops walking through the crowd at the convention center and people were coming up to beg for food. Not being able to help is a difficult thing. People were calling our names because we know them and to not be able to help, man, that's stressful."
Link Posted: 9/5/2005 8:58:23 AM EDT
[#7]
9/11 was a localized event which did not destoy the NYPD's headquarters or command control elements, courts, prosecutors, or udges. NYPD retained the things police need to keep order.

NOPD was not so fortunate.
Link Posted: 9/5/2005 11:55:32 AM EDT
[#8]

Quoted:
The police working to help the 9/11 victims had homes to go back to.  Many of the NOPD do not.



Good point that many are overlooking.
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