NEWS: 249 New Orleans Police Could Face Tribunal

Nearly 15% of the New Orleans Police force may be facing a special tribunal because they left their posts without permission during Hurricane Katrina.
Police Superintendent Eddie Compass plans to assemble a tribunal to hear each case and sort the outright deserters from those with a legitimate reason for not showing up for work.
David Benelli, president of the Police Association, said he believes only a small fraction of the officers will wind up being deserters.




This really makes me think about the two police looters who were caught on MSNBC. I wonder what will become of them?

249 is a large number and I hope they are all Okay. Those who are outright deserters need to be dealt with appropiatly.

Lt. David Benelli has said, "For those who left because of cowardice, they don't need to be here, If you're a deserter and you deserted your post for no other reason than you were scared, then you left the department and I don't see any need for you to come back."

Related News Links:
www.wowt.com
www.leadingthecharge.com



[edit on 27/9/2005 by Umbrax]

This is really going to have to take some precision investigation and witness corroboration...either that or simply a confession....

Under these types of unprecedented situations, a police force is meant to work together as a team....Which required a plan....Something they were short of..

Meeting places, times, shifts, proper equipment, etc....All of these were simply left as "shoot from the hip" type scenarios, where the natural leaders would come forward and the shadows would simply digress back into the dregs....

It's a very complex situation and requires more thought than simply saying, all those who abandoned their posts deserve punishment....That's the wrong approach to this, and I hope they make a concerted effort to distinguish the valuable excuses from those who simple couldn't cut it...

New Orleans was famous for having one of the most corrupt police deparments in the country.

What do you want to bet that a lot of the ones who were on the take, were also among the ones who deserted when their city needed them most?

Katrina was brutal for the people of New Orleans, but it may yet turn out to be just what the NOPD needed.

originaly posted by xmotex
New Orleans was famous for having one of the most corrupt police deparments in the country.

I just found this editorial from September 3rd

There is an atmosphere of intense hostility and distrust between much of Black New Orleans and the N.O. Police Department. In recent months, officers have been accused of everything from drug running to corruption to theft. In separate incidents, two New Orleans police officers were recently charged with rape (while in uniform), and there have been several high profile police killings of unarmed youth, including the murder of Jenard Thomas, which has inspired ongoing weekly protests for several months.

Before this city is rebuilt, it seems there are some serious issues to look at.

Before these officers are tried and cendemned to a wholesale tarring and feathering, is it not important to first attempt to understand:

How many were stranded?
How many were hurt?
How many broke under adverse conditions, such as seeing their loved ones dead?
How many sought to find and rescue their loved ones?

The 249 may very well be dwindled down to a number that can be considered to be expected.

These individuals are not unfeeling, uncaring robots with like mindset.