Katrina Coverage

[11/14/05 UPDATE: To avoid confusion, see also "NOPD phantom cops: real or fiction?"]

The New Orleans Police Department had 1500 to 1700 officers. Well, not exactly. See, it's like voting, Democratic Party style. In actual fact (article was at allheadlinenews.com/articles/7000310543, but now missing) they might have only had 900 to 1000 actual, living, breathing, uniform-wearing officers. The others might have been shadow people, or there might be corruption involved.

The FBI has started an investigation, and recall that former chief Eddie Compass resigned a couple days ago:

The FBI began investigating the New Orleans police who had abandoned their post during Katrina and of the more than 500 screened so far, 84-percent don't exist…

The investigation is widening on Wednesday to include New Orleans Police Foundation and Elodia Blanco [their Recruiting Coordinator] for hiring practices as well.

Corruption was wide-spread during the Katrina aftermath as New Orleans police officers were seen looting shopping centers and filling shopping carts with shoes, clothing, and electronics.

Mayor Ray Nagin was also questioned about allowing a large number of unnamed police officers to go to Las Vegas for rest and relaxation once the military arrived to take over the city. But a problem for the mayor rose when questioned who those officers were and how they could be contacted. Nagin did not have specific names to give…

Now, let's consider the article "Signing Bonus For Experienced Police Officers" which used to be on the city site here, but which is now nowhere to be found except in google's cache from January 2005. The offer might have expired before the hurricane, or it might have been deleted afterwards. Here it is:

Not Everyone Can Wear the Badge, Can YOU?

Salary and Benefits

The New Orleans Police Department is now accepting applications for employment!
$5,000 Signing Bonus For Experienced Police Officers

Mayor C. Ray Nagin, the Director of the Office of Homeland Security Terry Ebbert, the Superintendent of Police Edwin P. Compass III and the Executive Director of the New Orleans Police Foundation Robert Stellingworth announce a new initiative to recruit experienced police officers to join the New Orleans Police Department.

Effective immediately the New Orleans Police Department will offer a $5,000 signing bonus to the first fifty (50) P.O.S.T. Certified Patrol Officers who meet the required qualifications and are employed by the New Orleans Police Department.

Applicants must agree to employment with the N.O.P.D. for not less than three years. Applicants need not live in the City or State to apply, but must be domiciled within the City of New Orleans when employed.

For further details, interested individuals should contact:

New Orleans Police Department
Recruitment & Applicant Division
715 South Broad Street
Room 116
New Orleans, La. 70119
504-826-1575

or

New Orleans Police Foundation
Elodia Blanco, Recruiting Coordinator
400 Poydras St. Suite 1940
New Orleans, La. 70130
1-877-JOIN-NOPD (toll free) or
504-566-7404

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 29th, 2005 at 7:37 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.