Nagin Defends Use of 'Phantom Police'
Ray Nagin, mayor of New Orleans, lashed back at critics after the FBI discovered that up to 700 so-called members of the city police force simply did not exist. Funding for many of these officers was provided by the federal government "During the storm and aftermath we'd heard reports that hundreds of New Orleans police officers had deserted their post," said an FBI spokesman." Further investigation indicates that these posts had never been manned and the funds supposedly paid in wages has disappeared." "Sure, we overstated the number of officers on the force,"said Nagin. "We did this to deter crime." As Nagin explained it, the "phantom officers" were used as a decoy to "frighten" would-be offenders. "Just as George Washington lit fake campfires to lull the British troops before his surprise attack at Princeton, we in New Orleans have employed a similar strategy." The effectiveness of Nagin's alleged strategy is in doubt, though. New Orleans has one of the highest crime rates per capita the nation. As for what happened to the funds that were supposed to have paid police salaries, Nagin asserted that they were used to hire consultants and purchase computer software needed to sustain New Orleans' "Virtual Police Force." "The software had to be custom made," said Nagin. "It's not something you can buy at CompUSA. Software designers don't come cheap. Neither do the public relations experts who developed our media campaign." The media campaign featured TV spots of various street people implying that they could be undercover cops. In one ad, an apparently toothless derelict looks into the camera and says, "I be watchin' you. So don't you go misbehavin'." Unimpressed by Nagin's explanation, the FBI asserted it will continue its investigation.
But my link went to a dead end as if the media freaks deleted the space for more Bush bashing. But I found this one.
New Orleans Police haunted by corruption
12:25 2005-09-29 An investigation is underway by the FBI as agents look into massive corruption on the state and local levels in the New Orleans Police Department, according to Fox News.
Police Chief Eddie Compass suddenly resigned on Tuesday asking media interests to respect his right to privacy, but it appears that the former New Orleans cop has a lot of explaining to do.
"It's pretty much always been known, but never openly acknowledged, that NOPD's actual numbers were far below the "official" figure of 1500 - 1700," says the Fox News source.
The number of officers that actually are employed by the department are around 900 to 1,000. The question now remains...where was all of that salary money going to?
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.
"I served this department for 26 years and have taken it through some of the toughest times of its history. Every man in a leadership position must know when it's time to hand over the reins," says Compass at a news conference.
The investigation is widening on Wednesday to include New Orleans Police Foundation and Elodia Blanco 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.
Several middle ranking police officers committed suicide after the Katrina debacle, Nagin and Compass believe it was due to trauma and exhaustion from the storm but officials are looking into whether or not it might have been related to fear of being caught in a payroll scandal, AHN reports.
