Anderson Cooper interviewing two people who were stopped

[SeattleGirl]

from cross the Gretna bridge. They are a white couple, but are confirming what we have heard, about them being stopped by guns, gunfire over their heads. They said there were about 3-4 white people total in the crowd, and everyone else was African American. "You can't tell us this wasn't racist. We saw it for ourselves." Now talking about how the police took their food and water away from them.

Jesus Christ!


On Edit: Now talking to a police offier or sheriff's officer (sorry, I missed who he was). He's denying everything this couple told Anderson Cooper. I am more inclined to believe the couple -- they looked pretty stricken when they were interviewed. Anderson just asked Johnny Law about the shooting over people's head. He said "Well, I don't know about that so I can't comment." Puke! He's saying that they were already "locked down" and "our borders were already closed." Borders? I thought Gretna was a city, not a country.

[Libby2]

1. Unreal !!!!!

[Generic Other]

2. Police of Adjacent Town Used Gunfire to Keep People Trapped in NO LINK

Police of Adjacent Town Used Gunfire to Keep People Trapped in NO
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4663607

[malaise]

3. I'm watching in total shock

How humane are these people - good grief. I hate these animals.
Couldn't they have set up shelters and welcome fellow citizens.

[goclark]

4. Took water from the Whites or the African Americans?

[knowbody0]

5. the guy from gretna

is a real spooge. protecting property.
fuck me

[AX10]

6. I too am inclined to believe the couple...

and break of the FOP union at the same time.

[RallyInDC]

7. ok bush, time to throw in the saddle. turn in your papers. resign.

even cheney can handle keeping people safe better than you, unfortunately. very unfortunate given we know about cheney's detention camps and oil slave labors...

[SeattleGirl]

8. Now Johnny Law is blaming the NOLA authorities

They should have done something, blah blah blah. From what I understood from the couple interviewed by Anderson, they were doing what they were told -- getting out of the city by using that bridge.

The depth of racism in this whole thing is sickening!

[dogday]

9. Yes, American citizens just love to lie to the public

about the truth. Oh wait that is the Police who love to lie about the truth. The citizens are trying to get the truth out. Government believes that people will always believe them over a regular citizen....

[MSgt213]

10. The more I heard from that Police Chief from Gretna the less I believe

what he is saying. He sounds more and more like he making shit up. When I first heard the couple I thought initially that they had to be making this shit up. But now I'm sure they are not making it up.

[DoYouEverWonder]

17. The Gretna Police were still 'kicking butt'

a week later. This is how these racists treat black people all the time. Police brutality is a common occurance in places like this. Here's just one story from a National Guardsman who was there last week. The story below is clear evidence, with names, dates and places the brutality and racism of the Gretna Police.

Mission: Deterrence

September 10, 2005

<snip>

Two deputies were in the cruiser and another three or four were loaded into the truck.

The deputies asked the Guard how things were going. When the soldiers said it was boring, one deputy said "I guess we'll go make a run through there to see if we can stir some (stuff) up."

"They're going in in squad size. It looks like they're loading up," one Guardsman said as the deputies pulled forward about 50 yards to get ready to make their patrol.

The Guard prepared to spread out to catch anyone running from the deputies, but the next hour or so was quiet.

"They said they went back in there and kicked everybody's door in," said Sgt. Francis Estey of Arlington.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050910/NEWS/509100365/1004

[izzie]

11. Sounds like the South to me.

Only people I knew who have the balls to sit in the shade on their decks with a cool drink and watch a black man working in the sun and call him lazy. Course I have not lived in the South in a long time so they may not be like that any more. I lived there when they were turning over school buses with kids on them so my mind has never been to good on this point.

[Lex]

12. Yeah, because no way would people have the balls to

sit in the shade on their decks in say, California or Arizona, and watch hispanic people "work in the sun and call him lazy."

Please.

[MidwestTransplant]

14. I just don't understand why all those folks didn't just get in their SUVs

and drive out of NOLA before the storm hit?

[samdogmom]

22. Oh my! Up here where I used to live it's called "driving while black."

Whatever. Racism is alive and thriving. Get over it, dreamers. We've got a problem in America and we have to deal with it soon. It's not right by any stretch of the imagination. We need to demand fairness now.

[TahitiNut]

13. It's an egregious abuse of authority, imho.

A county line ISN'T a national border. Travel is a human right. Only a legitimate quarantine would apologize such an act. Those officials should be prosecuted and imprisoned.

[SeattleGirl]

16. Yeah, let's hold 'em in the Superdome!

Perhaps they would change their views.

[TahitiNut]

18. Lock 'em in until they clean it up. That would be justice.

:evilgrin: Give 'em latex gloves and trash bags. So many full trash bags for an MRE; so many trash bags for bottled water. What the hell - the "prevailing rate" is meaningless, right?

[SeattleGirl]

19. With no protective gear, and having to use a toothbrush!

[Pirate Smile]

15. They were just on Hardball also.

[louis-t]

20. I thought they already admitted to

shooting over peoples' heads!

[HamdenRice]

21. Lying bastard already confirmed it in earlier reports to UPI

The police chief of Gretna admitted to the media his department did this. Now he is lying.

He should go to prison for several sentences served consecutively.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/09/09/BAGL1EL1KH1.DTL

Gretna Police Chief Arthur
Lawson confirmed that his officers were under his orders to seal off the suburban city of 17,500 residents.

"We had individuals bused into Gretna and dropped off, and we had no idea they were coming. No one ever called us -- we have no shelter in Gretna, and our citizens were under a mandatory evacuation. This place was already locked down.''

[Gloria]

23. Ask Geraldo--he was there talking about Gretna and people

being blocked....Was Shep there too?? I get mixed up, one of them was there addressing this, while the streets were closed during the hurricane.....