The tragedy in New Orleans and the car explosion outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas were horrific events in themselves. Still, the reaction and cover-up by authorities are as horrific and insulting. The people charged with keeping us safe by preventing incidents like the ones we experienced on New Year’s Eve are racing to the microphones to load the media with their version of the acts, which will expunge them of any responsibility. Their goal is to focus your attention on what they will do in response to the acts, and not a second will be spent on the fact that little was done proactively to prevent them. Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick called an impromptu press briefing very close to where 14 innocent revelers lost their lives. She accomplished two things in a few sentences. She showed her utter ineptitude and incredible arrogance not to admit she was over her head, could not handle the job, cost dozens of families to be broken forever, and refused to accept an iota of responsibility for her mistakes.
New Orleans is a go-to destination year-round, but especially in January and February when they host thousands for New Year’s Eve, the Sugar Bowl, and frequently, the Super Bowl. The city of New Orleans benefits from the immense revenue generated by its visitors and is responsible for their safety. It is up to people like Kirkpatrick to anticipate how someone can harm her city and prevent it. This calls for a proactive, not reactive approach. This week, they failed in their mission. There is nothing proactive about Anne Kirkpatrick.
She explained how special metal barricades could have prevented this truck from avoiding the Jersey barriers on the street and speeding down the sidewalk of the French Quarter. This was when she told reporters that New Orleans had purchased such barriers, but she was unaware of the inventory, and her ignorance kept them in a warehouse. The manufacturer’s CEO claimed he had been reaching out to NOLA Police, but his calls were not taken. This entire scenario is too bizarre to comprehend.
The FBI was as feckless as the NOLA police. They were more intent on not calling the incident an act of terrorism than on supplying possible answers to why this deranged individual might have done this, and they refused to entertain any link between the two men who committed these atrocities in New Orleans and Las Vegas. Both were from Fort Bragg, the 82nd, and radicalized into the ISIS world of terror, but only the FBI was blind to the similarities.
Under the current administration and the thinking in Blue cities and states, there will be no ramifications for Kirkpatrick or anyone else responsible for lapses in preparation. The first suit on behalf of the victims has been filed in New Orleans, and you can be assured the video of the Kirkpatrick address will be the key piece of evidence. The reckoning for ineptitude and outright ignorance will be in a court of law. It won’t bring the loved ones back, but it is going to cause some serious pain in NOLA.
