Anderson Cooper stupifies Eddie Compass

CNN | 9-09-2005

[Armedanddangerous]

Did anyone just see the exchange between Anderson Cooper and Eddie Compass? He tried to pin the chief down on the evacuation issue and the chief about blew a circuit breaker.

[RummyChick]

Do they rerun Aaron Brown? I would love to see that Eddie interview again. I was laughing so hard I missed the exact dialogue.

[clintonh8r]

Andy packs fudge in his spare time?

I did not know that.../Johnny Carson voice

[popdonnelly]

Why are you being so hard on Anderson Cooper? He sounds like he's actually doing some journalism. He's asking someone a valid question. Would you rather have the New York Times' opinions?

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

I noted that super Cooper immediately throttled back and let him off the hook when he saw the chief was threading deep LA political flood waters.

If Cooper had any minerals, he would have just pretended he had a pubbie in his cross hairs, it would then have been revealing.

[katykelly]

LOL! Who is 'They'?

[navysealdad]

That's like one of the men in Houston today, said he had been waiting 9 months for his debit card from fema.

[Howlin]

Don't do it. You'll be sorry.

[VirginiaMom]

I love it when you show up Howlin! :)

[NonValueAdded]

Oh come on, give the guy a break. There is a big lake to the north and a river to the south so technically they have been surrounded by water for decades if not centuries. [NVA, graduate of the Bill Clinton school of parsing, class of '99] :)

I only saw a single clip of that dude, one where he was with that Col. whatever dude, the NO City Homeland Security chief. They blew a big opportunity to spur on the evacuation before the storm hit. All they would have had to do is to show those two clowns on TV and say "if you stay, these are the people who will be in charge and on whom your life will depend." The exodus would have been epic.

[Texas Songwriter]

Did anyone see Tancreado on Tucker Carlsons show? Tancreado has a lot to say and most of it is not politically corrrect. He has some good insight. I will look for more from this guy. He came out and said this is mostly Blancos fault with some stupid things from the may and some improvements could be made with FEMA (10% blame).

[Howlin]

Why is that?

[publana]

I am embarrassed to say (or maybe not) that I had no clue as to the identity of Anderson Cooper. I went to CNN.com to find out about him. From what I saw and read I was not impressed. His pic looked light-weight... not somebody to be reckoned.

Makes sense. Just another CNN loon. :/ And they wonder why their ratings suck.

[VirginiaMom]

Because nothing gets by you. Plus I always enjoy your posts.

[Howlin]

Thanks.

I'm sure a lot of people think I should "miss" a lot of things. :-)

[Mind-numbed Robot]

Compass police buddy who was said to have committed suicide, this needs to be looked into.

I had heard early on that his family had been wiped out in the flood. That was later changed to his being a perfectionist and was overworked and distraught by all he was seeing. On Rush today, if I heard correctly, the real story is that he had gone home after work and found his wife raped and the whole family murdered.

[kcvl]

NOPD aims to become friendlier force
'Arrest mode' hasn't worked, Police Chief Eddie Compass says
Friday, June 10, 2005
By Trymaine D. Lee
Staff writer

For the past decade, Police Chief Eddie Compass said New Orleans police have tried to get a handle on crime by operating in what Compass calls "arrest mode": focusing on arresting criminals rather than building relationships with residents who live daily with murders and drug deals.

But as violent crime, including murders, has continued to rise, it's become apparent that this approach hasn't worked well, he said.

So things are about to change. As part of a new initiative developed by Compass and his command staff, current crime-fighting techniques they say have resulted in more headaches for citizens than hard time for criminals soon will be history.

"We've been in arrest mode for 10 years, and the murder rate hasn't changed," Compass said Thursday. There have been 13 more murders so far this year than in the same time period in 2004.

"We're changing the whole mantra of the Police Department," he said. "Service will now be our top priority."

The move, Compass said, is as much of about the quality of life for the city's residents as it is about utilizing the force's resources.

Under the initiative, police will no longer routinely enforce roadblocks, wear military-style fatigues, or focus on trying to write municipal tickets. The police roadblocks, which needed 12 to 14 officers to man, would net a few arrests but caused unnecessary frustration and inconvenience to the law-abiding residents stopped, Compass said.

"We would stop 250 people and get two" criminals, Compass said. "We'd be stopping mothers with children, doctors, people on their way to work. . . . We realize now that we have to meet the community halfway."

Building trust

Compass said he hopes to cut the time residents have to wait for calls of service to five minutes or less. Right now, residents wait as long as 30 minutes for response to nonemergency calls. Compass also said he wants to make responding to traffic accidents a top priority.

Rafael Goyeneche, president of the Metro Crime Commission said the move shows Compass is willing to try new things when other tactics have fallen short.

"I think what this is, is a recognition by the Police Department that the success of the department in this community and in any other community is dependent on the community's (trust) of the department," Goyeneche said.

The decision to make the Police Department a more resident-friendly force comes amid a spate of controversial police shootings and a recent block party that some residents said was broken up by police with excessive force.

Police need to be more courteous and respectful and begin to develop better relations with the community, Goyeneche said.

"In light of everything that has happened over the past several months, there is some merit in the need for more emphasis within the Police Department on how to deal with the public," he said.

As part of the new initiative, police have implemented a new community liaison post, held by 24-year veteran officer Roland Doucette. Doucette's primary role will be to operate at the grassroots level of the community, engaging in dialogue with residents, noting their concerns and presenting those concerns to the command staff.

Community leader Deborah Davenport, whose husband, Bruce Davenport, is pastor at St. John No. 5 Church near the St. Bernard housing development, said she hopes the police chief is serious about the changes, emphasizing that communication is key to mending the relationship between the cops and the community.

"Sometimes the community doesn't understand policing and the police don't understand the community," Davenport said. "So these changes do need to happen with both the police and the residents together, where they can appreciate each other and the roles they both play."

Officers friendly

During a recent walk-through at the St. Bernard housing development, Compass fielded complaints from residents concerning everything from housing police fighting with residents to visitors being arrested and charged with trespassing.

Compass said Thursday that under the new policy, from now on anyone stopped for trespassing on Housing Authority ground will be walked to the door of the family that person claims to be visiting to verify the relation.

Another change will come Sunday, when officers must begin wearing standard uniforms instead of paramilitary-type outfits -- though these still will be worn by SWAT officers conducting raids or sweeps.

Police said that when residents saw the officers dressed in the military-styled tactical uniforms, they saw an "occupying military presence" rather than friendly forces.

Police also said folks in the community often have so much disdain and distrust of the Police Department that they'd rather take their chances with the killers in the street than give information to the cops.

Police hope that the end result of these changes will be residents who are more willing to cooperate with investigations, spokesman Capt. Marlon Defillo said.

Also, in hopes of becoming a more visible presence on the streets, Compass said all of the department's unmarked patrol vehicles will be remarked within a year.

Other than this effort, for which the department should have funding next year, the initiative won't cause any additional strain on the budget, the chief said.

"I'm not looking at it from (a money) perspective," Compass said. "We're simply redirecting resources."

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

How were the school buses under water before the hurricane came? Hmmmmm?

Bluto: "Over? Did you say, 'over?' Nothing is over until WE decide it is! Was over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!"

Boone: "Germans?"

Otter: "Forget it. He's rolling."

[bboop]

No, Nagin said he did not want to use the school buses. He said something like, "I want luxury Grayhounds! Get them here from all over the country." But instead, at the stamp of his little pouty foot, he got -- a levee break.

[skaterboy]

That makes one of you

[nopardons]

A better query would have been how he would have liked pictures of his brother's suicide, plastered all over T.V.! Of course, that was years ago, but still......:-)