Sunday, September 4, 2005
At least 200 police officers leave New Orleans force
The stress becomes most painfully apparent in suicides of two on force.
By JOSEPH B. TREASTER
The New York Times
NEW ORLEANS – Reeling from the chaos of the overwhelmed city, at least 200 New Orleans police officers have walked away from their jobs and two have committed suicide, police officials said Saturday.
Some officers officially told their superiors they were leaving, police authorities said. Others worked for a while and then stopped showing up. Still others never made it in after the storm.
(snip)
Police officials did not identify the officers who took their lives. They said one had been a patrol officer, whom a senior officer called "absolutely outstanding." The other was an aide to Compass, who said the aide had lost his home in the hurricane and had been unable to find his family.
Because of the hurricane and the flooding, many police officers and firefighters have been isolated and unable to report for duty. Others evacuated their families and have been unable to return to New Orleans. Still, some officers appear simply to have given up. The result is an even heavier burden on those who are patrolling the streets, rescuing flood victims and trying to fight fires without running water, electricity and reliable telephones, and with only a small fraction of their radio-communication patrol cars and firetrucks still operating.
(snip)
http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/2005/09/04/sections/news/news/article_661984.php
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