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can u believe this???

hooples3

Fuggetaboutit!
Mar 14, 2005
5,245
0
Brooklyn
Nagin Defends Use of 'Phantom Police'



September 30, 2005



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 in 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
 

LordOpie

MOTHER HEN
Oct 17, 2002
21,022
3
Denver
Virtual software to manage the virtual police. I smell Haliburton :evil:

Here's a question... why not just hire the 700 cops?
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,029
7,549
that's a nice tale, but please provide a link to a real news agency carrying this story. i think it's something that some random blogger made up.
 

Secret Squirrel

There is no Justice!
Dec 21, 2004
8,150
1
Up sh*t creek, without a paddle
This smells like bad food....the longer it sits..the worst it tastes....

I've seen Nagin in multiple interviews and he doesn't strike me as the type to embezzle funds like that .....but maybe I'm pie-in-the-sky-high....To me, he seems to be very well spoken about what has happened and what he is doing about all the sh*t that's gone down.....I'll tell you this, I'm glad it's not me...I prolly would've shot myself by now... :nuts:
 

hooples3

Fuggetaboutit!
Mar 14, 2005
5,245
0
Brooklyn
yeah.. i think it is all a joke..although its a damn good one
i have to say im still not 100% sure its a joke.. but I would think it would be on some sort of news alrady considered its dated sept 30th
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,931
13,129
Portland, OR
The time I spent with them and the stories I heard when I was down there leads me to think it is highly possible though.

The police force was a joke. I was told by a local of police pulling drive by shootings 2 days before the storm hit. Then there were bodies discovered on patrol that had gunshot wounds that were reported by the police as "drownings" (if it was homicide, it would require paperwork, and who wants to do paperwork).

It still concerns me of the police leaving post though.
 

ZoRo

Turbo Monkey
Sep 28, 2004
1,224
11
MTL
Capitalism of disasters; see how it reacts to Katrina and directly funds Hallyburton for the reconstruction contracts. See how it invents police officers to get the fundings. See how utilises a natural disaster to boost their sefl-fulfilling prophecy. See how america in sinking deeper in the abyss neoliberalism...