Three Days in New Orleans

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Rick Knapich

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I got back from New Orleans last night about midnight. I was there since Tuesday morning. I had six hours of sleep during that time.



Lafayette fared pretty well during the hurricane. It missed us for the most part and we just caught a bunch of wind and rain. All I had was a bunch of leaves and some branches come down...about an hour's worth of clean up, as opposed to two weeks' of cleaning up after "Lilly". I took the day off to watch the house and keep an eye on the big oak tree that's behind the house.



We got a call from Baton Rouge on Sunday to be ready to be activated. We shipped out Tuesday morning. We (about 600 Probation and Parole Officers from all over the state) had to empty the Orleans Parish Prison which had 4,000 prisoners and transport them to state facilities in other parts of the state. They were rioting, killing each other and holding civilian hostages. This never made the news, at least not to the extent that actually played out. We had to have our State CERT teams go in there and use lethal force. I still don't have the exact count of how many had to be shot. I saw the body of one after having been shot and having fallen from the window they had broken through to escape.



Nearby I saw the body of another guy who appeared to have been robbed and killed, then thrown off the expressway that all the refugees were using to get around above the flooded street. There were bodies everywhere. Dogs were dying all over from drinking the water that was flooding the area. We were stationed on the expressway right opposite the Super Dome, about six hundred yards away.



The rioters had stolen all the mail trucks and were driving them around the non-flooded roadways, looting and stealing other vehicles. I saw one guy in the back of a mail truck carrying an AK-47 type weapon. He started to point it at us as the truck drove buy and the only reason we didn't fire was because there were also kids in the back of the truck.Fortunately, he never fired. You heard gunshots all the time. These people were shooting at National Guardsmen, police officers and rescuers in boats. I saw approximately 60 Wildlife Fish and Game Officers leave the area with as many trucks and rescue boats after having been shot at. The helicopters that were bringing food, water and people that had been picked up from roofs and other flooded areas were being shot at and they had to stop landing. I saw a caravan of FEMA vans and trucks come into town right past my checkpoint and then leave after an hour because they said it was too dangerous.



I saw, from day one, miles of charter buses come in and take out thousands of refugees, right through my checkpoint. When I finally heard the news on TV after getting home and heard Mayor Nagin complaining that he wasn't getting any help and nobody wasn't doing anything I almost got sick. I would have knocked him out if he was standing in front of me. (You have to know this man's history of running / ruining this city). There was more help and aid coming into that city from day one than you could have ever imagined.



By the third day they were setting fires to homes and businesses. It is my belief, based on experience, that a lot of fires were intentionally being set to cover up other crimes, many being capital crimes. The death toll is expected to be in the thousands and won't be known until after all the water is drained and some semblance of order is restored.



I must have given bottled water to a hundred women carrying infants in the 90+ sun and walking for miles. They were pushing the elderly and infirm in shopping carts and dragging dresser drawers with clothes and personal belongings. It was so hot we had agents close to passing out because we were in the sun, wearing our vests.



The last caravan left the prison about 7pm last night and it felt good to get home, take a shower and sleep in a bed.



P.S. We have several thousand ev
 
Tough going Rick.. Thanks for the report. I feel it's the only way we will ever get the truth.



Bill



ps..I tried to find en e-mail link to Fox News so I could forward Ricks story, without his name of course, but couldn't find one..
 
That's unreal Rick,.....really glad you're safe and home again. You're a hero IMHO!!:cool:
 
Rick, glad you are ok. Thanks for going in, risking your life, and helping people.
 
Thanks: From all of us that would like to help but can't.:(
 
Jeez Rick.

Glad to hear you are back safe and sound.



Thanks for posting the other side of the story.My head was ready to explode because the news made it seem like all the rescuers were just sitting around drinking coffee while ignoring everybody.

I now realize just how bad it is, as far as from the safety standpoint of the rescuers.



God Bless,

Steve
 
Rick I can see where It was bad and It looks like It will get worse..Thanks for the Info...JR
 
Thanks for the news, Rick. Bigger thanks for the selfless job you and your fellow officers are doing. The rescuers were smart - first rule of help is not to become a victim yourself!
 
Good report Rick I am glad your home now sleaping in your own bed.



Tomorrow go over to the Blue Dog Cafe and get some dinner. Better yet, goto the Old Tyme Store and get a Shrimp Po-Boy and send it to KY. I went to Lafayette a few months back and I fell in love with those two places and the town.



Donnie
 
Thanks for the post and your service. Quite a few yrs ago I was stationed in NOLA for 4 yrs when on active duty, and looking at the news reports it is unbelievable what I see. I figure the building I worked in on the Lakefront, across from Lakefront Airport, is pretty much gone or submerged. As far as the thugs looting and shooting at the rescuers, don't they realize that those choppers can mount much bigger weapons than what the street criminals are carrying!
 
Thanks for the first-hand report. An un-biased factual account, unlike what we get from the news services. Glad you are safe.



TOXIC
 
Wow!!! I mean truly amazing! The depths of human depravity just get deeper and deeper.:(



Thank you and your fellow officers for maintaining what you could and refraining from mowing down the weeds in our society that seem to beg for atonement. Take care of yourself!
 
Thanks for the report and your heroic service! The truth needs to be told.

Tom

Most of the news reports last night had black "leaders"(that were not in the affected area) saying that they weren't helped in a timely manner because the majority of people were black and poor. One black lady actually said that if this had happened in a rich, white area, that help would have been faster. Give me a F'ing break! Everyone down there is getting massive amounts of help as fast as can be done under the situation and if the race card comes up any more, I'm afraid the will of most people to give to them will diminish. The mayor of NO was blaming Bush and saying the gov't was doing nothing, when I blame him for not taking care of HIS citizens, especially the poor, black,elderly, and diabled. He dropped the ball completely and is looking for someone else to blame.

Sorry for the soapbox rant!

Tom
 
Former NYC Mayor Guiliani (sp) should host a training course for aspiring (and some current) mayors.
 
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