It’s for the tourists. A quick fix band aid instead of addressing the cause of the shootings.
Via The NO Advocate
Little more than an hour after a 21-year-old Hammond woman was pronounced dead from gunshot wounds suffered in Sunday’s early morning spray of bullets on Bourbon Street, the head of State Police on Wednesday announced an emergency deployment of 30 troopers to bolster law enforcement presence in and around the French Quarter through this weekend’s Essence Festival, a major summertime tourist draw.
Col. Mike Edmonson, the state police superintendent, called it an unusual response prompted by a request from Mayor Mitch Landrieu, although it fell well short of Landrieu’s call on Tuesday for 100 state troopers to patrol the city over the long term amid a steep manpower deficit in the NOPD.
The decision to add troopers was made on Sunday, Edmonson said, although the size of the state response was unclear then.
State troopers commonly lend an extra hand in New Orleans during major special events. But not since Hurricane Katrina has the state wheeled out a major contingent to New Orleans to help quell public safety concerns, officials said.
“What makes it different from others is the shooting on Bourbon Street,” Edmonson acknowledged inside a hotel on Bourbon Street, which he called “the most visible street on earth.”
Dozens of troopers bowed their heads in a moment of silence for Brittany Thomas, who died at 2:44 p.m., and for the other nine shooting victims.
Edmonson said state police have not customarily staffed the Essence Festival to any degree. Working 12-hour shifts, the extra troopers will be deployed on foot and in cars in the French Quarter, Bywater, Faubourg Marigny and Central Business District.
Edmonson said the 30 troopers would start working immediately. Another 25 troopers are working off-duty details for Essence and will be available in a pinch, he said. By comparison, a total of 79 troopers are assigned to Troop B, the Kenner-based unit that covers Orleans and five other parishes.
The state reinforcements will run through an overnight shift that ends Monday morning. Beyond that, Edmonson said, he’s developing plans through Labor Day, though he is still working with NOPD Superintendent Ronal Serpas on the specifics.