NOPD Officer Recounts Order To Shoot Looters

[Poboy]

NOPD Officer Recounts Order To Shoot Looters
Capt.: Directive Came From Then-Deputy Supt. Riley

NEW ORLEANS — WDSU .com

A high-ranking member of the New Orleans Police Department told the WDSU I-Team on Tuesday that he and other officers were given directives for officers to shoot looters during the chaotic days following the landfall of Hurricane Katrina.

Capt. Harry Mendoza, who currently heads the department's training academy, said the order came from then-Deputy Supt. Warren Riley, who would later be promoted to the department's top position.

At a meeting at Harrah's Casino, which was closed following the storm, Mendoza said Riley told several high-ranking officers that he was initiating a protocol to "shoot looters in the city of New Orleans."

According to Mendoza, Riley said "that we were going to take the streets back and we were to start shooting looters that day. When questioned about that specific order, (Riley's) response was 'if you can sleep with it, I'm ordering it done.'"

Mendoza said he did not pass that directive on to men under his command.

"I was shocked to think in the chaos that existed and the circumstances that existed -- both in the city and for police -- that these orders were going to be issued," he said.

FULL-
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38840048/ns/local_news-new_orleans_la/

[myrna minx]

1. .

:cry: K&R

On edit - I'll never forget the AP photos captioning black people 'looting' while white people were 'finding things'.

[malaise]

2. Always protect private property before hungry people

That's the capitalist way.

[LiberalAndProud]

3. if you can sleep with it

Direct quote? The man's conscience was pricking him as he gave he order, no?

[Poboy]

4. The I-Team also spoke with Mike Cahn, a former lieutenant

The I-Team also spoke with Mike Cahn, a former lieutenant who once led the NOPD SWAT team. Cahn, who now directs security for the Roosevelt Hotel, backed Mendoza's recollection.

"When Riley told the command staff 'pass on to the officers to shoot looters,' Capt. Mendoza and I opted not to pass it along," he said. "You can't just make an arbitrary decision to shoot unarmed civilians.

"It is amazing that Chief Riley has used his position to re-write the history after Katrina."

[Poboy]

5. ttt