Blacks Prevented from Leaving New Orleans During Disaster: Bridge blockade goes to grand jury
Saturday, August 5, 2006 at 11:42AM A grand jury is launching a criminal investigation into the blockade of the Crescent City Connection after Hurricane Katrina, when hundreds of people trying to flee New Orleans on foot were turned back by West Bank law enforcement agencies, a spokeswoman for District Attorney Eddie Jordan said.
Separately, the U.S. attorney's office is reviewing the racially charged case for possible civil rights violations, a federal official said Friday. Most of those fleeing from the city were African-American. That led to allegations of bias on the part of the law enforcement agencies that enforced the blockade.
Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti turned over the case to Jordan and federal officials Thursday, ending Foti's monthslong probe.
"A few hundred people claim they were trying to cross the Crescent City Connection to safety, and they were prevented from doing so by certain members of law enforcement," district attorney's spokeswoman Leatrice Dupre said. "They also said shots were fired into the air, and we're just looking into those allegations. The grand jury will look into what laws apply and what laws might have been violated."
The federal investigation of the complaints will be carried out in conjunction with the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jan Mann in New Orleans.