Marshall Law Still in New Orleans

Article by Cain Burdeau-AP


"Troops to police New Orleans Slaying of 5 teens prompts mayor to call in National Guard. By Cain Burdeau, Associated Press http://www.presstelegram.com/portlet/article/html/fragments/print_article.jsp?article=3957434 NEW ORLEANS -- Acting at the mayor's request, Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco said Monday she would send National Guard troops and state police to patrol the streets of New Orleans after a bloody weekend in which six people were killed.

Blanco said 100 troops, joined by 60 state police, would be in place as early as Tuesday morning. More are likely to arrive later in the week.

Earlier Monday, Mayor Ray Nagin asked for as many as 300 National Guardsmen and 60 state police officers.

This was the first time the National Guard has been used for law enforcement in the United States since the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Nagin sought the troops after five teenagers in an SUV were shot and killed in the city's deadliest attack in at least 11 years. Police said the attack was apparently motivated by drugs or revenge. Also, a man was stabbed to death Sunday night in an argument over beer.

“Today is a day when New Orleanians are stepping up. We've had enough,” Nagin said. “This is our line in the sand. We're saying we're not going any further.”

Nagin said he would not allow criminals to take over when the city is still trying to recover from the hurricane. The mayor said troops should be posted in heavily flooded neighborhoods to free police to concentrate on hot spots elsewhere.

Community leaders have raised fears the violence

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could discourage people from moving back to New Orleans.

Blanco said plans were being crafted last week to step up anti-crime efforts, but the weekend slayings forced authorities to move faster. She said she was talking with New Orleans Police Chief Warren Riley about his exact needs.

Nagin's request had been backed by the City Council.

Reaction to the mayor's request was mixed.

Sherman Copelin, president of the New Orleans East Business Association, cautioned that handing over some neighborhoods to troops unfamiliar with those areas could be a mistake, saying officials should not “let someone come in and be a housekeeper.”

The killings over the weekend brought this year's murder toll to 53, raising fears that violence was back on the rise in a city that was plagued by violent crime before Katrina drove out much of the population last year.

Crime has been creeping back into the city: 17 killings in the first three months of 2006, and 36 since the start of April."
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