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 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.
| Essential relief supplies, after all. |
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 have broken down and they had no direction from commanders. âWe donât have enough cops to stop it,â an officer said. âA mass riot would break out if you tried.â
| I imagine one officer firing his pistol in the air, once, could bring considerable attention to the next 20 or so words he'd utter. |
Inside the store, the scene alternated between celebration and frightening bedlam. A shirtless man straddled a broken jewelry case, yelling, âFree samples, free samples over here.â 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 Robertâs Grocery, where a similar scene was taking place. A crowd in the electronics section said one officer broke the glass DVD case so people wouldnât cut themselves. âThe police got all the best stuff. Theyâre crookeder than us,â one man said.
Most officers, though, simply stood by powerless against the tide of law breakers. One veteran officer said, âItâs like this everywhere in the city. This tiny number of cops canât do anything about this. Itâs wide open.â
At least one officer tried futilely to control a looter through shame. âWhen they say take what you need, that doesnât mean an f-ing TV,â the officer shouted to a looter. âThis is a hurricane, not a free-for-all.â
Sandra Smith of Baton Rouge walked through the parking lot with a 12-pack of Bud Light under each arm. âI came down here to get my daughters,â she said, âbut I canât find them.â
| "So I decided to get drunk instead," added the nominee for mother-of-the-year. |
The scene turned so chaotic at times that entrances were blocked by the press of people and shopping carts and traffic jams 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. âI didnât feel safe. Some people are going overboard,â 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. âIt must be legal,â she said. âThe police are here taking stuff, too.â |