Martial Law in Arkansas

[CajunTim]

I was told nobody has left the curfew area yet and nobody has missed work either.

 

[mcinfantry]

Yes, they were. While they were being shot in the back for delivering water and food and helping people out of their homes. While I don't agree with them confiscating 100% of firearms when you're down there you can't tell who's going to shoot you and who's not. Keep in mind that was only for a little while. They're not driving around there now still confiscating firearms, simply backing up NOPD.

i have friends in new orleans working as mp's. not ALL are MP trained. fyi.

ive been a beat cop. not a desk jockey. i know the game. unless you are a post certified cop in louisiana please dont imply an mp in new orleans is the same. it sure in heck is not.

i think national guard working 3 years is silly. they cost too much, and it still isnt fixing the nopd.

 

[LACamper]

Hey, look at it this way, our LA National Guard now has more combat time than anyone else's! When we send our troops to Georgia they'll kick some Russian ass!

 

[Speedlace]

I was told nobody has left the curfew area yet and nobody has missed work either.

 

[greg t]

Just one thing about the "guard" being in NOLA ... many of these soldiers have been to Iraq, some have been over a couple times. I think having the same troops who have patrolled the streets of Iraq patrol the streets of NOLA is, at the very least, a clear violation of the spirit of Posse Comitatus.

I'm not even going to go down the "bad parenting" rabbit hole ...

 

[mcinfantry]

There are some P.O.S.T.-certified MPs. Most of the so-called Force Protection guys are; they are state employees of the Military Department and they guard LANG installations.

But don't fool yourself into thinking that a P.O.S.T. certification, by itself, a real cop makes.... military or otherwise.

.

ok, if you agree, that SOME mp's are post certified, does not even translate into 50%. so you have LESS than 50% of national guardsmen enforcing laws in our state. you are ok with it. i am not. then again i never kneeled to LSP.

a badge doesnt make a man. neither does rank.

 

[Swampy]

How could an entire town of obviously hard working people have managed to live while being locked in???

What do you mean they have missed no work??? Do they have secret tunnels?? cause there is no way they are derelicting their duties and they are finding a way to be useful members of society .. I just know it...

 

[swagge1]

I went to Helena for a bit 2 years ago with my wife. Its a rundown ******** that looks like it is abandoned. Yet there are people out there doing absolutely NOTHING but standing around. The reason we went was because we were visiting my wife's cousins and they were originally from Helena. I wanted to see their hometown. They all moved out of there many years ago.

 

[GunAddict]

Crime-ridden Arkansas town expands 24-hour curfew

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080813/ap_on_re_us/arkansas_town_curfew

An update with some real nice words.... Can't help keeping up with this, as it seems to now be spreading to encompass more area.

Quote..
"Now if somebody wants to sue us, they have an option to sue, but I'm fairly certain that a judge will see it the way the way the citizens see it here," Mayor James Valley said. "The citizens deserve peace, that some infringement on constitutional rights is OK and we have not violated anything as far as the Constitution."

Ok, right, give up some of your freedom/rights, and we will protect you and keep you safe....sound familiar(sarcasm)...
Quote...
"As far as I'm concerned, at 3 o'clock in the morning, nobody has any business being on the street, except the law," Councilman Eugene "Red" Johnson said. "Anyone out at 3 o'clock shouldn't be out on the street, unless you're going to the hospital."

I guess nobody works a rotating shift or has any other legit reason to be out.. I have worked many times where I got off at 2:30am and had to then drive home, and I surely wasn't headed to the hospital. But the way the article talks about the town, nobody works.

 

[Swampy]

I dont find it hard to believe that noone in that town works.. Kinda like New Orleans East..

 

[CajunTim]

None of the MPs I have met in the city have been to Iraq. All of the ones I have met have spent time at Gitmo.

 

[mcinfantry]

??????????????????????????

I'm afraid you'll have to further 'splain THAT one, as I'm a pretty simple fellow...

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i didnt have my gag reflex surgically removed to allow me to go balls deep on the louisiana state police, the national guard or government.

ill say it again. ive actually policed high crime areas and been shot at. i think you should be able to tint your windows as dark as you want, i think you should be able to own guns, and why pay taxes to a police department that is incapable of policing? FIRE NOPD, or FIRE the national guard. IM PAYING TAXES FOR THE NATIONAL GUARD AND MY LOCAL PD too!

 

[penguin]

Please, no one support the ACLU and their fight against this. As a matter of fact, please argue that the ACLU's lawsuit against the city for doing this is wrong!

 

[mcinfantry]

im no aclu lover, union lover or any other "feel good" lover. i believe in personal responsibility. why didnt the aclu sue nopd for taking guns????? whats the difference in nopd taking the guns from the people of new orleans and the arkansas govt enacting a curfew? both are WRONG. although if no one in that arkansas town will follow the law, then the law needs to try a different approach.

 

[penguin]

I agree, the ACLU should have done something. No organization is perfect. I just want to see how many people, that say they are ardent haters of the ACLU, support what the ACLU is doing in this instance. BTW, welcome to the site!

 

[Swampy]

Being shot at sucks..








But not as much as actually being shot...

 

[mcinfantry]

nope. havent been abused by any.

ive proved you wrong on your assertion of the experience and training of the national guardsmen in new orleans.

i assume you are LSP, from your name. the average <3 year road trooper has some knowledge and experience in criminal patrol as backup (not lead investigators), especially in rural parishes, but then they transfer to other divisions. im not knocking the LSP. im only pointing out that the LSP were not particularly suited for the new orleans assignment. i did not say not trained, not capable. i said not suited. just as the national guard are not suited for the new orleans assignment. as a matter of fact the US military is not suited for long term, protracted policing.

my point was look at new orleans. there is no real exit strategy, no light at the end of the tunnel. something should have been done 3 years ago. someone needs to look at a drastic change in new orleans.

my point was asp and national guard wouldnt be any better in arkansas, if you look at the track record in new orleans.

my questions are:
1) what is the current number of NOPD officers?
2) is crime higher post katrina? or is the media harping on it like they usually do?

im more pro police than most cops. i dont have to fear retaliation for speaking my mind and standing up for the line officer. since 90% of the problems in law enforcement, in my opinion, is leadership. the lack of gag reflex allows quicker promotions. the lack of gag reflex makes you weak, not strong.

 

[mcinfantry]

good you amuse me too!

i apologize for asserting you said all national guardsmen were post certified. they arent.

LSP is suited and trained to do basic police work. basic. not long term criminal patrol. thats what new orleans needs pro-active criminal patrol.

lsp has a mission and task. it does not include street level criminal patrol. sure LSP plays a minor role in rural parishes. they sure dont patrol or back-up in east baton rouge and i doubt it in orleans, jefferson... etc. (maybe post katrina).

LSP and the national guard are not trained nor is it part of their training to provide long term criminal patrol imo. i.e. rape, murder, robbery, theft, burglary, street level narcotics.. lsp IS trained to do traffic enforcement from tickets to weights/standards, gambling enforcement (as per louisiana law) large scale drug trafficking.

im not belittling lsp or the national guard. you can use a screwdriver to hammer something but isnt a hammer better????

if the local PD cannot control crime then LOCAL PD SHOULD BE DEALT WITH.

i wonder why crime under harry lee was different than under pennington? what about pennington and the sewell rumors? NOPD needs to be dealt with. and it stunk ling before katrina.

 

[penguin]

I think LSP is fine for standard patrols and have done great in the city (so has the guard thus far). I don't think, without customary and usual training, military organizations are the best suited for the task, though. Force protection (and I did a **** load of it) is alot different than civilian security patrols. An MP company is great. But if you get 2,000 grunts running security, they can be a bit overzealous. However, I would like to say that we really haven't had any bad instances of the guard doing that here. I think they are an asset. I think you have to take each situation differently. In this case, I support them here.

 

[ajt2341]

Just to make a few more points. Some MP's are post certified, most aren't. That's true enough. However according to RS 29:7.1 §7.1. Military police; powers and authority

A. Military police forces of the active Louisiana National Guard, unless otherwise restricted by regulation or order of their commander, shall have all of the powers and authority of peace officers necessary to perform law enforcement functions related to and in connection with their duties in the active Louisiana National Guard.

B. Military police within the Military Department, State of Louisiana, unless otherwise restricted by regulation, proclamation, or order of the adjutant general, shall have all of the powers and authority of peace officers as are necessary to perform law enforcement functions related to and in connection with their duties in the Military Department, State of Louisiana.

Another point worth mentioning is of all the reserve police/so deputies that I know, none of them are POST certified in anything other then weapons. Yet no one has a problem with reserve officers patrolling the streets. The MP's have more training in a lot of areas then a lot of reserve officers. The only difference between using the MP's to back up street patrols and calling in LSP or any other department is the uniforms.