Law enforcement efforts to contain
the emergency left by Katrina
slipped into chaos in parts of New
Orleans Tuesday — with some
police officers and firefighters even
joining looters in picking stores
clean.
At the Wal-Mart on
Tchoupitoulas Street, an initial
effort to hand out provisions to
stranded citizens quickly disintegrated
into mass looting.
Authorities at the scene said bedlam
erupted after the giveaway was
announced over the radio.
While many people carried out
food and essential supplies, others
cleared out jewelry racks and carted
out computers, TVs and appliances
on handtrucks.
Some officers joined in taking
whatever they could, including one
New Orleans cop who loaded a
shopping cart with a compact computer
and a 27-inch flat screen television.
Officers claimed there was nothing
they could do to contain the
anarchy, saying their radio communications
had broken down and
they had no direction from commanders.
“We don’t have enough cops to
stop it,” an officer said. “A mass
riot would break out if you tried.”
Inside the store, the scene alternated
between celebration and
frightening bedlam. Ashirtless man
straddled a broken jewelry case,
yelling, “Free samples, free samples
over here.”
Another man rolled a mechanized
pallet, stacked six feet high with
cases of vodka and whiskey.
Perched atop the stack was a bewildered
toddler.
Throughout the store and parking
lot, looters pushed carts and loaded
trucks and vans alongside officers.
One man said police directed him
to Wal-Mart from Robert’s
Grocery, where a similar scene was
taking place.
Acrowd in the electronics section
said one officer broke the glass
DVD case so people wouldn’t cut
themselves.
“The police got all the best stuff.
They’re crookeder than us,” one
man said.
Most officers, though, simply
stood by powerless against the tide
of law breakers.
One veteran officer said, “It’s like
this everywhere in the city. This
tiny number of cops can’t do anything
about this. It’s wide open.”
At least one officer tried futilely
to control a looter through shame.
“When they say take what you
need, that doesn’t mean an f-ing
TV,” the officer shouted to a looter.
“This is a hurricane, not a free-forall.”
Sandra Smith of Baton Rouge
walked through the parking lot
with a 12-pack of beer under each
arm.
“I came down here to get my
daughters,” she said, “but I can’t
find them.”
The scene turned so chaotic at
times that entrances were blocked
by the press of people, shopping
carts and traffic jams that sprouted
on surrounding streets.
Some groups organized themselves
into assembly lines to more
efficiently cart off goods.
Toni Williams, 25, packed her
trunk with essential supplies, such
as food and water, but said mass
looting disgusted and frightened
her.
“I didn’t feel safe. Some people
are going overboard,” she said.
Inside the store, one woman was
stocking up on make-up. She said
she took comfort in watching
police load up their own carts.
“It must be legal,” she said. “The
police are here taking stuff, too.”
(Staff writers Doug MacCash and
Keith Spera assisted in this story.)
Looters leave nothing
behind in storm’s wake
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2005 A-5
STAFF PHOTO BY JOHN McCUSKER
GARDEN DISTRICT: A New Orleans police officer is seen carrying DVDs at the Wal-Mart on Tchoupitoulas Tuesday. Many police officers said they felt helpless in
enforcing the looters, which were found all over the city.
Police officers
seen joining in
on free-for-all
By Mike Perlstein
and Brian Thevenot
Staff writer
Looter shoots N.O. officer in the head
ANew Orleans police officer was
shot in the head Tuesday after confronting
looters on the West Bank,
officials said.
Details were scarce, but officials
said the officer and another officer
confronted several looters stealing
merchandise from the Chevron station
at the corner of Shirley and
Gen. DeGaulle drives. One of the
officers went inside the store, while
the other remained outside and
confronted a man he saw looting
the store.
When he did, another looter came
from behind and shot the officer in
the head, a police officer told a
reporter for The Times-Picayune.
The officer who was shot was
rushed to West Jefferson Medical
Center, where he underwent surgery.
Other officers told a reporter
that reports from the hospital said
the wounded officer was expected
to survive. Jefferson Parish
deputies arrested four people on
the scene, and police said one of
those arrested was wounded in the
arm after exchanging gunfire with
another officer.
Relatives chose to
stay behind in
New Orleans
By Matt Brown
West Bank bureau
