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Yeah, it's been all over the news here.
We've now lost 3 police officers in 6 months.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — An off-duty police officer was killed when he drove off an open drawbridge in early-morning darkness Tuesday, and his superintendent said no warning bars or arms had warned the man he was about to plunge to his doom.
A spokesman for the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, which operates the lift bridge over the Industrial Canal, said the agency is investigating. Lift bridges raise their middles in one piece rather on two hinges.
The body of Tommie Felix, a police officer for 17 years, was inside the silver BMW that was pulled from the canal Tuesday afternoon, New Orleans police Superintendent Warren Riley said.
An initial report by the Coast Guard was that the bridge had been raised at the time of the 2 a.m. accident, said Paul Barnard, the search and rescue coordinator.
"There were no warnings," Riley said during a news conference. "From early reports, the arms or warning bars, that were supposed to be down when the bridge is up ... were not up."
Barnard said he did not know whether a gate designed to warn motorists when the bridge is raised was functioning at the time.
Riley said Felix, 43, was a highly decorated narcotics officer and, even in his death, probably saved lives.
"Because he tried to stop, several other cars behind him slammed on their brakes and did not go over the bridge," he said.
According to police, Felix left behind five children ranging in age from 4 to 19.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j...Ux-ugD90PNFEO0
Yeah, it's been all over the news here.
We've now lost 3 police officers in 6 months.
we drove a coach out of a job and now this. geez
Whatever. The good people of New Orleans only discovered they had an NBA team this past January.
The NOPD, however, is one of the most screwed-up police depts in America. They are so undermanned, I doubt anyone gets a speeding ticket here. They're always tied up with violent crime or burglury.
dude, lighten up.
That is very sad to hear.
That is very sad to hear.
Has the NOPD always been that way or just since Katrina? Sounds like this officer did a good job, it's a shame to lose him that way. It's strange because every drawbridge I've been on, it was pretty obvious when it was up; I would think one could tell even without any signals. But I guess at night it's all different.
My first sentence WAS a joke! Ba-dunk-CHING!
Yeah, living in a civilized city (e.g., San Antonio) conditions you to think that everything is supposed to work normally. Things don't work like they're supposed to here (drawbridges).
The NOPD was messed up to begin with, but then they lost half their people due to the storm. They now drive used cruisers from other depts., their officers work 12-hr days 6 days a week, and they are underpaid. The cops who are still in the NOPD tend to move on to other depts.
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