From the convention center:
A Jefferson Parish police deputy had appealed to SWAT team Capt. Jeff Winn for help in bringing out his wife and a female relative from the center. "He knew they were there and was hearing nightmarish stories," said Ganthier, who declined to identify the officer for security reasons.
Winn approved the mission.
When the SWAT team entered at 11 a.m., the Jefferson Parish officer called out his wife's name. She heard him, and along with the relative rushed to his side. The SWAT team put the women in the middle of the team, then backed out the door.
Once it became clear that the SWAT team had come with the single goal of rescuing two white women, anger exploded.
"Racists!" one man cried out.
"Some people were upset we weren't rescuing them," said Ganthier. "It's hard to leave people behind like that, but we were aiding an officer."
But this wasn't about race. Just helping a fellow police officer. *roll eyes*
But I don't want to see the tools get blamed for what the hand. We may not know exactly what was going through the minds of those officers on that bridge, and we might never know. But we can probably find out why they were there in the first place, and who told who to give the order, and whose spin they chose to believe to justify themselves.
Oh please, they're not "tools" they're human beings, just like those they've sworn to serve and protect as police officers. Treating them as though they're are incapable of moral reasoning (which branding them as mere "tools" does quite effectively) is the Eichmann defense. "Just following orders" is not an excuse for inhumanity on this level.
The lawyer's description is just priceless.
A group of about 200 Monteleone guests decided to try to walk out of the city to the east, and got to the on-ramp at the Crescent Connection bridge, where they were met by Gretna, La., police with shotguns. "They told us the bridge was closed to foot traffic," Scheer said. "Some locals had joined us and became extremely unruly, threatening to rush the officers. They fired their shotguns into the air."
Ah, those unruly locals. They obviously forced the police to act that way.
Tim Russert interviewed Aaron Broussard, President of Jefferson Parrish on Meet the Press this morning. One of the most heartwrenching things I've ever seen. Those poor, poor people.
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