Perhaps I can add some clarity along with some info about what was happening in New Orleans from the experience of a first responder who actually WAS there during the storm (in the superdome as a first responder) and the aftermath (as a first responder) and was SHOT AT by thugs as he attempted to carry out his duties and protect the public and his men that he was in charge of. I can submit proof to administrators documenting credentials if needed.
What i have to say comes directly from the words of my hubby who was a firefighter in New Orleans. He had been with the NOFD for decades and was in charge of his crew of firefighters and first responders at the superdome during Katrina. He had nightmares till the day he died about what he had to go thru in Katrina and the aftermath. I know a LOT more than i will ever tell but let me at least say the following.....
He was at the superdome and he and his men were fired upon by numerous civilian snipers from different locations. Here is a man who stayed to help, who had devoted his whole life to helping others and he and his men were shot at by these lawless animals. He and his men weren't armed but the national guard people who were with him were armed and they had orders to shoot if they were fired upon and shots were exchanged. He wasn't a hunter, didnt like guns, wanted only to save lives and he was put in a situation of kill or be killed.
I dont want to say much more than that on that subject but it absolutely happened. He was extremely traumatized by his experiences of Katrina because he saw so much death and destruction and worthless people who used the storm as an excuse to go crazy and shoot at innocent people and commit horrendous crimes. Don't think all of the people who died in Katrina died from drowning or the conditions of the storm and the city.
For instance, everyone had to throw out their fridges after the storm as they were ruined and full of rotting food, they were duct taped and put on the curb for pickup to be brought to a site where they could be dismantled and properly disposed of. The workers at the site were horrified to find that there were many fridges that contained bodies of people who were murdered in the chaos of the storm. There was no way to find out where the bodies had come from or who had put them there or who they were.
New Orleans is one of the current murder capitals so imagine how much worse it was during the storm and aftermath when there was no law or not enough law to deal with the thugs who went crazy and saw Katrina as a chance to do as they please, kill whoever they wanted and to take whatever they liked. Sure, there were people who looted to survive but nobody needs a big screen TV to survive and there were many criminals and ghetto thugs who took advantage of the conditions to go on an unlimited crime spree and felt justified in doing so. They felt Katrina was God's way of letting them get back for all of the injustices they feel they suffered. Utterly disgusting!
While there were some cops who took advantage of the situation also there were many more who stayed and went beyond the call of duty. They told their families to evacuate and prayed they got out safe because they had no way of communicating once the storm him. The storm hit and they saw death and destruction everywhere and had no way to contact their families to even tell them that they had survived or to find out if their families were safe.
Anyone ever heard of Officer Paul Accardo? Probably not. You hear so much about officers who did wrong but so little about those who did right and suffered for it. Paul Accardo was an experienced officer but the aftermath, chaos and killing was too much for him and he killed himself. Learn about him. See link:
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/09/05/amid_horror_2_officers_commit_suicide/
You don't hear about the firefighters and first responders who stayed behind while their families evacuated and were separated for months because the city was not safe to live in and the ff and first responders had a job of doing body recoveries for months after the storm. I know because I was there. I saw what they experienced and suffered thru. I know how hard they worked and the terrible emotional toll it took on them. But they just kept working, trying to find the missing, recovering bodies and living in a city that looked like a 3rd world country.
I have all the sympathy in the world for the firefighters, first responders and the cops who stayed and answered the call of duty. No one will ever know all of what they went thru. They haven't made a career whining about what happened to them in Katrina, unlike so many low-lives who to this day are still whining that FEMA didnt give them enough and that they are OWED something. Did you know that 5 years after Katrina FEMA was STILL paying for some people to live in hotels because those people refused to get jobs and reclaim a gainful life? Ridiculous !
Perhaps the police weren't fired upon by the civilians that they shot at on the bridge but i have no doubt in my mind that they were being shot at and had been shot at many times in the days following the storm. These officers were in a war zone.
Ok, that's my 2 cents. I don't mean to offend anyone or start a debate. I'm just stating what I know for a FACT.