NOPD Under Political Arrest

By Nadra Enzi —— Bio and Archives July 7, 2015

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New Orleans hostages and honest policy makers should look to British police privatization-with apologies to PANO (the Police Association of New Orleans)-and American citizen on patrol models like Detroit Street Watchers and the Guardian Angels for relief from shrinking NOPD staff and growing violent crime. Outsourced police services and dedicated citizens on patrol can take the pressure off of the few officers left on the force- at least until the current mayor leaves office.

Pampering the French Quarter with state troopers-whom I also support-and the Nola Patrol hasn't helped hostages in proverbial slave quarters of lower income areas. Ironically, even high income locales outside the pampered province of the French Quarter aren't spared carnage either. The current administration simply doesn't believe in its police department! Its directives to date have reduced the force to blue shirted flying Dutchmen unhappily sailing unsafe streets trapped in a recurring nightmare. Hostages must be adult enough to shoulder the blessed burden of protection as the situation worsens. We can't pretend that all this talk of New Orleans ( rich Whites only ) progress magically negates profound violence launched from a segment of its majority Black population. Hostages can't count on a police department under political arrest. If we aren't going to force this administration to loosen its choke hold on NOPD, then Black folks saying #BlackLivesMatter and confederate monument fans had better add forming Baghdad intensity neighborhood watches, self-defense upgrades and sheltering-in-place to their talking points. Regrettably, the New Orleans Police Department is under political arrest and hostages with heads buried in the sand risk getting more than just protruding tail feathers shot off!