Home > A "floatilla of aid" TURNED BACK from New Orleans...Explain!

A "floatilla of aid" TURNED BACK from New Orleans...Explain!

by Open-Publishing - Sunday 4 September 2005
19 comments

Edito Governments Catastrophes USA

My name is Jason Robideaux, I am an attorney from Lafayette Louisiana and have dealt with all of the various law enforcement agencies in Louisiana during the past 18 years. Although I have had a positive relationship with law enforcement personnel throughout the State for many years, I regretfully have a story to share that will shake your head in disbelief about the La. Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries.

A group of approximately 1,000 citizens pulling 500 boats left the Acadiana Mall in Lafayette this morning (Weds.) and headed to New Orleans with a police escort from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Department. The "flotillia" of trucks pulling boats stretched over five miles. This citizen rescue group was organized by La. State Senator, Gautreaux from Vermilion Parish. The group was comprised of experienced boaters, licensed fishermen and hunters, people who have spent their entire adult life and teenage years on the waterways of Louisiana.

The State Police waved the flotillia of trucks/boats through the barricades in LaPlace and we sped into New Orleans via I-10 until past the airport and near the Clearview exit. At that time we were stopped by agents of the La. Dept. of Wildlife & Fisheries. A young DWF agent strolled through the boats and told approximately half of the citizens that their boats were "too large" because the water had "dropped during the night" and that they should turn around and go home.

We were pulling a large (24ft) shallow draft aluminum boat that can safely carry 12 passengers and had ramp access which would allow the elderly and infirm to have easier access to the boat. We politely informed the DWF agent that the local and national media had consistently reported that the water level had "risen" during the night which contradicted his statement to us that the water "was dropping" and no boat over 16ft. in length would be allowed to participate in rescue operations.

We then specifically asked the DWF agent that we (and other citizens in the flotillia) be allowed to go to the hospitals and help evacuate the sick and the doctors and nurses stranded there. We offered to bring these people back to Lafayette, in our own vehicles, in order to ensure that they received proper and prompt medical care.

The DWF agent did not want to hear this and ordered us home. We complied with the DWF agent’s orders, turned around and headed back to Lafayette along with half of the flotillia. However, two of my friends were pulling my other boat, a smaller 15ft alumaweld with a 25 hp. The DWF agents let them through to proceed to the rescue operation launch site.

My two friends were allowed to drive to the launch site where the La. Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries were launching their rescue operations (via boat). They reported to me that there were over 200 DWF agents just standing around and doing nothing. My friends were kept there for approximately 3 hours. During that time they observed a large number of DWF agents doing nothing. After three hours had passed they were told that they were not needed and should go home. They complied with the DWF’s orders and turned around and went home to Lafayette.

Watching CNN tonight, there was a telephone interview with a Nurse trapped in Charity Hospital in New Orleans. She said that there were over 1,000 people trapped inside of the hospital and that the doctors and nurses had zero medical supplies, no diesel to run the generators and that only three people had been rescued from the hospital since the Hurricane hit!

I can’t come up with one logical reason why the DWF sent this large group of 500 boats/1000 men home when we surely could have rescued most, if not all, of the people trapped in Charity Hospital. Further, we had the means to immediately transport these people to hospitals in Southwest Louisiana.

On Tuesday afternoon, August 30, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee asked for all citizens with boats to come to the aid of Jefferson Parish. A short time later Dwight Landreneau, the head of the La. Depart. of Wildlife and Fisheries, got on television and remarked that his agency had things under control and citizen help was not needed. Apparently, Sheriff Lee did not agree with that assessment and had one of his deputies provide the Lafayette flotillia with an escort into Jefferson Parish.

Sheriff Lee and Senator Gautreaux - 1000 of Louisiana’s citizens responded to your pleas for help. We were prevented from helping by Dwight Landreneau’s agency, the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. When I learned that Charity Hospital has not been evacuated and that no one has been there to attempt a rescue, I became angry.

The "turf-marking" by some minor state agency should never take priority over the lives of citizens!

Signed,

Bewildered and Frustrated,

Jason Robideaux

Attorney At Law

1005 Lafayette Street

Lafayette, La. 70501

(337) 291-9444 office

http://www.thedeadpelican.com/lawyer.htm

there seems to be a theme.... govt refusing aid and people dying

http://www.democraticunderground.co...

Forum posts

  • The U.S. government can’t afford witnesses in New Orleans. That is the major reason. Genocidal acts as recently seen in Bagdad and Fallujah are happen in New Orleans.

    America has established the fourth Reich!

    • One can only hope that one of the good things to come out of this tragedy is that it will trigger the downfall of the Bush regime. More and more main stream media seem to actaully (at least momentarily) seem to less willing to be spoonfed the lies that Rove dreams up to cover the evil empire.

      There’s actually (Finally!!) been some public call to impeach bush because of his utter failures and lies.

      The link is here - http://www.jabberwonk.com - in the Sunday, Sept 04 links section.

  • this is terrible - look on Mike Moore’s web site for a story on how FEMA refused 500 air boat pilots ready to show up in New Orleans

  • Hehehe... Welcome to America!!!

    The poor and the Blacks are not a priority here... These elements of American society is never seen or talked about. By having witnesses and the thought of a group of ad hoc NGO helping goes against the White Man’s delusions... Can’t have that... No, Never!!!

    What a bunch of dicks.

    Welcome to America.

    • first of all let me tell all you that are saying the government is not helping.........MY HUSBAND IS A PART OF THE AIR NATIONAL GAURD and he was in the thick of it when it was happening..there was troops deployed to those areas before the storm hit. Unfortantly the troops did get trapped also and they were waiting to be rescued.. I have and my family lost our vehicles because my husband was told to help people and he had his vehicle to help people after katrina hit.. The way everyone on here is talking as if the military wasn’t there and that is not true.......................

    • ma, sounds like you are saying you lost your vehicles, what about the thousands of lives that were lost...the vehicles can be replaced either through insurance or through saving to buy another one... those lives can’t be brought back any kind of way...how selfish you are! I can appreciate the fact that your husband is in the service, so is my sister, nephew and many friends and they were all trying to help, but so were we here back home in Houston

  • I certainly hope that someone got the name and/or badge number of the young DWF agent who stopped the procession.

    It should be published as well.

    "I was just following orders" shouldn’t be allowed in the US any more than it was in Germany.

    We are accountable to the state for our actions and to God for our inactions.

    • Orders were sent down to not let help arrive or let national gaurd do their job. Don’t you people get it Bush got what he wanted death and havoc. He will use New Orleans as a example of what will happen without Martial law. This Natzi Bush allready knows that martial law is down the road. Why, because he and the rest of the Neo "natzi" cons will orchestrate anouther government sponsored terrorist attack just like 9-11. except it will be several 9-11s. This will give this Hitler Bush the excuse to install martial law on the U.S. and the pretext to invade Iran with nucleor weapons. All I can say is get ready start loading up with weapons to fight these Neo Natzis.

    • The message about orders not sent down is a lie they had troops already in the area..............................................

    • You are very WRONG. I am sorry you are so misinformed.
      If you truly feel this way, move out of the United States of America!
      The countries of France and Germany would welcome you and your false beliefs.
      President Bush is an American. He is a conserative Republican and a Christian.
      I love the USA and its form of government. I respect and trust the efforts of our
      President to lead this nation along a difficult path of survival in this cruel world.

  • What the hell is FEMA doing? They must be held accountable for mass murder....

    From meet the press this morning...
    MR. RUSSERT: Hold on. Hold on, sir. Shouldn’t the mayor of New Orleans and the governor of New Orleans bear some responsibility? Couldn’t they have been much more forceful, much more effective and much more organized in evacuating the area?

    MR. BROUSSARD: Sir, they were told like me, every single day, "The cavalry’s coming," on a federal level, "The cavalry’s coming, the cavalry’s coming, the cavalry’s coming." I have just begun to hear the hoofs of the cavalry. The cavalry’s still not here yet, but I’ve begun to hear the hoofs, and we’re almost a week out.

    Let me give you just three quick examples. We had Wal-Mart deliver three trucks of water, trailer trucks of water. FEMA turned them back. They said we didn’t need them. This was a week ago. FEMA—we had 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel on a Coast Guard vessel docked in my parish. The Coast Guard said, "Come get the fuel right away." When we got there with our trucks, they got a word. "FEMA says don’t give you the fuel." Yesterday—yesterday—FEMA comes in and cuts all of our emergency communication lines. They cut them without notice. Our sheriff, Harry Lee, goes back in, he reconnects the line. He posts armed guards on our line and says, "No one is getting near these lines." Sheriff Harry Lee said that if America—American government would have responded like Wal-Mart has responded, we wouldn’t be in this crisis.

    But I want to thank Governor Blanco for all she’s done and all her leadership. She sent in the National Guard. I just repaired a breach on my side of the 17th Street canal that the secretary didn’t foresee, a 300-foot breach. I just completed it yesterday with convoys of National Guard and local parish workers and levee board people. It took us two and a half days working 24/7. I just closed it.

    MR. RUSSERT: All right.

    MR. BROUSSARD: I’m telling you most importantly I want to thank my public employees...

    MR. RUSSERT: All right.

    MR. BROUSSARD: ...that have worked 24/7. They’re burned out, the doctors, the nurses. And I want to give you one last story and I’ll shut up and let you tell me whatever you want to tell me. The guy who runs this building I’m in, emergency management, he’s responsible for everything. His mother was trapped in St. Bernard nursing home and every day she called him and said, "Are you coming, son? Is somebody coming?" And he said, "Yeah, Mama, somebody’s coming to get you. Somebody’s coming to get you on Tuesday. Somebody’s coming to get you on Wednesday. Somebody’s coming to get you on Thursday. Somebody’s coming to get you on Friday." And she drowned Friday night. She drowned Friday night.

    MR. RUSSERT: Mr. President...

    MR. BROUSSARD: Nobody’s coming to get us. Nobody’s coming to get us. The secretary has promised. Everybody’s promised. They’ve had press conferences. I’m sick of the press conferences. For God sakes, shut up and send us somebody.

  • Lack of leadership abounds in this tragedy. Until the National Guard arrived, there just was no one in charge. To be in charge, you have to be on the ground where the action is located, not in some Bureaucratic office hundreds of miles away. Decisions have to be made on the battlefield and that was and is in New Orleans. A good leader is on location making decisions and giving orders. The red tape must be cut immediately by the man in charge. If the director of FEMA had been on location on Monday, he could have ordered all of the relief to the most needy spots and the suffering could have been alleviated. If he had been on I-10 in downtown New Orleans in the sweltering heat, you can bet that water would have arrived the same day.
    The second major failure was the same that occured following 9/11. The radio communications are not on the same wavelength. No one’s radio will communicate directly with anyone else’s radio. It is doubtful that if the director of FEMA had been present on Monday that he could have talked by radio to the Police Chief, National Guard and State Highway Patrol chief at the same time. It is inexcusable that in times of emergencies that we have no real communications. I’m sure the answer is simple. Have all of the dispatchers on the same frequency and have all agency heads with satellite phones so they can talk to each other. Army Generals can talk to their leaders in the field, so why can’t we have cross communications between agencies carrying out emergency duties. Even in some cities, the policemen can’t talk to the fire department commanders and they can’t talk to the EMS crews and none can talk to the mayor or city manager. With the billions being spent on Homeland Security, you would think that by now they could have all gotten a radio on which they could all communicate. I’m sure that the telephone companies would be glad to solve this problem for a price if the radio companies can’t. In this day of enlightened electronics, the inability to communicate across the spectrum of government agencies is inexcusable.
    C. L. Ray
    Lawyer

  • I am horrified at the thought that whether the Fed. Gov. is trying to supress the death toll come out before 9-11 which will certainly outnumber that of 9-11-2001. Is this sheer incompetency or is there some conspiracy involved? Whatever the reason is inaction definitely added to the death toll.

  • Jason: You are absolutely correct. You should have been released to save peoples lives and not some government punk wanting to show his authority. If you are ever in Bastrop, Texas,
    look me up and I will buy you a steak.
    Thanks for the effort...
    Jack Herzik

  • Mr. Robideaux,

    This is an excellent article and you and your counterparts should be commended for your intentions and efforts. It is an absolute shame that individuals in positions of authority such as the head of your DWF, believe "THEY" are in charge when clearly their abilities to lead lack severely.

    Again, I commend you on your efforts and thank you for letting people know about the true horror stories of this devastating event.

    Police Officer Brian Kunkel (k9ofcbtkunkel@verizon.net)
    Fort Meade Police Department, MD

    • DOWNLOAD and EMAIL this song for those who need help

      right click —> Save link as OR Save Target as —> email to friends/family/anyone to encourage donations and help.

      Please stop bickering. The crisis is still going on. People need to consider that this is the *worst disaster* that this country HAS EVER seen. I’m not debating who should be in charge/who’s to blame... I think WE ALL need to accept responsibility and do what we can to help out. This is your country. We are all in this together. While you POST ON THIS WEBSITE... PEOPLE ARE INDEED DYING. PLEASE HELP OUT!! I’m talking to YOU. RIGHT NOW!!

  • I am with the Florida Airboat Association, which was responsible for getting over 100 civilian airboaters into New Orleans despite the bureaucratic boondoggle. Those airboaters worked tirelessly to evacuate over 3,000 critically ill patients and medical staff from the three major downtown hospitals. Following that mission, they moved into the residential neighborhoods and worked to rescue those still stranded on roof tops and in their attics.

    Refer to the following: http://www.nfrmag.com/Nov-Dec%2005/Katrina.asp

    From my experience the New Orleans fiasco was not the fault of the federal government. Rather, the responsibility lies with the Louisiana state government and Governor Blanco.

    I personally made several calls to the Governor’s office attempting to get authorization for the airboaters to enter Louisiana and New Orleans without success. Later, attempts were made through Washington, D.C. to get through to Louisiana senators and congressmen to get their attention. I even got one senator’s aid out of bed at 5:30 am.

    The fact of the matter is that the Florida Airboat Association had over 300 airboats and operators prepared and willing to respond to New Orleans. Many were only a matter of 8 hours away and the Louisiana state government refused to recognize them.

    In addition, those civilian airboaters who did travel to New Orleans and provided their services did so at the own uncompensated expense. Many of the volunteer airboaters sustained damage to their vessels that exceed $2,000 per boat. That, in addition to the uncompensated fuel and expenses, became quite costly to the good-ole-boy working man that sought no other reward then the helping of his fellow man in a time of need.

    Each civilian airboater that responded to New Orleans knew that he/she had an valuable and unique resource that was inherently suited to perform the job and was unmatched by any other non-military entity.

    Those volunteers risked their health and safety and well being to help those in need.

    When speaking directly with officials of the Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries, it was their response that the State of Louisiana would be gladly to accept the volunteer efforts of the airboaters, but the State would not provide them with fuel or other compensation. Their response was that “it was not in their budget.”

    Further, to date the State of Louisiana has yet to recognize the volunteer airboaters for their efforts, while the Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries continues to take credit for the rescues and evacuations.

    Robert Dummett
    Chairman, Safety Committee
    Florida Airboat Association

  • The Florida Airboat Association was responsible for getting over 100 civilian airboaters into New Orleans despite the bureaucratic boondoggle.

    It should be understood that the whole New Orleans fiasco was not the fault of the federal government. Rather, the responsibility lies with the Louisiana state government and Governor Blanco.

    I personally made several phone calls to the Governor’s office attempting to get authorization for the airboaters to enter Louisiana and New Orleans without success. Later, attempts were made through Washington, D.C. to get through to Louisiana senators and congressmen to get their attention. I even got one senator’s aid out of bed at 5:30 am.

    The fact of the matter is that the Florida Airboat Association had over 300 airboats and operators prepared and willing to respond to New Orleans. Many were only a matter of 8 hours away and the Louisiana state government refused to recognize them.

    In addition, those civilian airboaters who did travel to New Orleans and provided their services did so at the own uncompensated expense. Many of the volunteer airboaters sustained damage to their vessels that exceed $2,000 per boat. That, in addition to the uncompensated fuel and expenses, became quite costly to the good-ole-boy working man that sought no other reward then the helping of his fellow man in a time of need.

    Each civilian airboater that responded to New Orleans knew that he/she had an valuable and unique resource that was inherently suited to perform the job and was unmatched by any other non-military enity.

    Those volunteers risked their health and safety and well being to help those in need.

    When speaking directly with officials of the Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries, it was their response that the State of Louisiana would be gladly to accept the volunteer efforts of the airboaters, but the State would not provide them with fuel or other compensation. Their response was that “it was not in their budget.”

    Those who did assist the State of Louisiana did so at their own expense, shouldered the cost of damages to their vessels and foraged for fuel for their vehicles to make the return trip home.

    Further, to date the State of Louisiana has yet to recognize the volunteer airboaters for their efforts, while the Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries continues to take credit for the rescues and evacuations.

    Robert Dummett
    Chairman, Safety Committee
    Florida Airboat Association

  • I’m baffled. I have 2 questions, 1) what was there to gain from stopping the rescues from going forward I can only see praise that the state would have received for the bravery and the togetherness that would have taken place... More tourist because they would have felt dsafe...now there are many that were coming to your state ponder whether they should or not because ot the safety issues. 2) When did a Department of Wildlife and Fisheries gain so much power...even over the pOLICE!!! Please response!

    L.C.