Katrina Coverage

District Attorney Eddie Jordan has announced that a Louisiana grand jury will investigate the NOPD. Their purview appears to be a bit broad. Among the controversies they'll investigate include:
the theft of the Cadillac cars
the shooting involving the contractors on the bridge
And:
The grand jury also will look at evidence in a case involving a police chief […]

Snopes says this claim is false:
New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin created a phantom force of 700 "virtual policemen."
Actually, that's only partially false:
1. Snopes only discusses a satire from azconservative.org entitled "Nagin Defends Use of ‘Phantom Police’", which I linked to on October 1, and which has a creation date of 9/30 at that site.
2. However, […]

The former head of the NOPD has a new gig: security consultant for New Orleans Fine Hotels.

From New Orleans Fire Officers for Desertion:
Amid the chaos that ensued as Hurricane Katrina struck the city, dozens of police officers and civilian employees left their posts unexpectedly and were not heard from again. On Friday, the New Orleans Police Department fired 51 of them _ 45 officers and six civilian workers _ for abandonment.
"They […]

…because after a check it turned out that some of them were deserters.

From "Crimefighting Faces Challenge in Big Easy":
[…911 is a joke…]
"We just don't have enough police officers to handle the calls we're getting," said New Orleans Councilman Jay Batt, who has received calls from more than 100 other residents with similar concerns…
The streets of New Orleans are patrolled now by a much-reduced force.
The National Guard whose […]

From this:
…two NOPD officers threatened workers from a charitable organization [Barefoot Doctors’ Academy] cleaning a park and providing free food and medical care to the needy. A CityBusiness reporter was forcibly ejected from the park while taking photos.
NOPD public information officials did not answer phone calls to comment on the incident…
Another group involved was the […]

The LAPD cop who uses the name "Jack Dunphy" has some suggestions for the NOPD:
…1. Hire a recognized leader to head the department…
…2. Reward the officers who endured the hardships of Katrina, and fire those who didn’t…
…3. Eliminate the residency requirement for police officers…
…4. Hire officers at all ranks from other agencies…
…5. Institute a realistic […]

The AP summary/conglomeration of other articles printed here as "New Orleans Police Struggle With Upheaval" contains mostly non-news personal interest story stuff. It also has this:
When Katrina passed, the department found itself without communications, with officers cut off from each other and headquarters. Lawlessness spread through the city. Rescue workers reported being shot at. Police […]

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AP) — Three New Orleans police officers pleaded not guilty Monday to battery charges based on a videotape showing two patrolmen repeatedly punching a 64-year-old man accused of public intoxication and a third officer grabbing and shoving an Associated Press Television News producer who helped capture the confrontation on tape…
There are two […]