My mother, now in her seventies, once told me a story about her (or someone else) walking by a police precinct and hearing the sounds of someone black receiving an awful beating in a cell.  She was a little girl then in the Forties.  Of course, the sounds of suffering–night sticks or saps on flesh, the curses and groans of grown men–must have terrified her.

We’ve all heard about the heroism of some NOPD officers who stayed at their posts during a horrendous time. They deserve to be lauded.  Unfortunately, though, some others may have reverted back to their old ways of dealing, with fewer still under a lot of pressure.

How?
Some NOPD cops were caught on videotape whacking a drunken, 64-year-old black man not a few minutes ago (6:01 p.m. CDT, as I write this):

Two New Orleans police officers repeatedly punched a 64-year-old man accused of public intoxication, and another city officer assaulted an Associated Press Television News producer as a cameraman taped the confrontations.

There will be a criminal investigation, and the three officers were to be suspended, arrested and charged with simple battery Sunday, Capt. Marlon Defillo said.

Rodney King stuff again.

The APTN tape shows an officer hitting the man at least four times in the head Saturday night as he stood outside a bar near Bourbon Street. The suspect, Robert Davis, appeared to resist, twisting and flailing as he was dragged to the ground by four officers. Another of the four officers then kneed Davis and punched him twice. Davis was face-down on the sidewalk with blood streaming down his arm and into the gutter.

Meanwhile, a fifth officer ordered APTN producer Rich Matthews and the cameraman to stop recording. When Matthews held up his credentials and explained he was working, the officer grabbed the producer, leaned him backward over a car, jabbed him in the stomach and unleashed a profanity-laced tirade.

“I’ve been here for six weeks trying to keep … alive. … Go home!” shouted the officer, who later identified himself as S.M. Smith.

Police said Davis, 64, of New Orleans, was booked on public intoxication, resisting arrest, battery on a police officer and public intimidation. He was treated at a hospital and released into police custody.

A mug shot of Davis, provided by a jailer, showed him with his right eye swollen shut, an apparent abrasion on the left side of his neck and a cut on his right temple.

The thing that I wonder is, was Davis threatening passersby or police?  Was he staggering?  Cursing?  Was he about to whip out a gat?  Was he about to lay down on the sidewalk and refuse to move? Were other patrons or the owner of the bar feeling threatened?

All reports say that all the man was doing was standing outside a bar.

Hell, if I had survived what’s happened within the last two months, I’d want to have a few drinks myself.

All the cops needed to do was summon a paddy wagon or something and let Davis dry out somewhere.  Instead, they decided to revert to form.  Maybe, for real, they needed to go home.  There really is no excuse for exploding their frustrations on blacks.

Yet another episode in the annals of New Orleans policing:

On Friday, state authorities said they were investigating allegations that New Orleans police broke into a dealership and made off with nearly 200 cars — including 41 new Cadillacs — as the storm closed in.

Perhaps that’s another reason why some of their compadres haven’t returned to duty.

And still another troubling episode that warrants an investigation.

A man listed as one of Katrina’s victims in New Orleans was actually shot by police.

Police confirm that 45-year-old Danny Brumfield was shot and killed outside the convention center in the early morning darkness of September 3.

Brumfield’s daughter and niece dispute that account. They say the officer who shot Brumfield hit him twice with a squad car before firing. Afterward, the two say the patrol car ran over Brumfield, then left his body unattended for hours until other officers arrived.

Sigh. Have mercy.  I don’t know what is worse.  The presence of Blackwater.  Bush insisting on using the military in situations like this.  The NOPD.  Or the fact that our National Guard who are trained for this kind of thing are still in Iraq.

Would there be any of this occurring?  I remember when they called the National Guard out to protect tourists in the French Quarter because of a rash of muggings and shootings that police could not control because of corruption, firings and resignations.  Things definitely settled down then.

I am just so tired of seeing this.