Remember the sheriff's deputies who shot at the tourists trying to walk out of New Orleans? They were mis-identified as being from Gretna, which is a municipality. They were most likely officers with the Jefferson Parish sheriff's department. A National Guard unit distributing food to the people of Jefferson Parish report on a very disturbing encounter with sheriff's officers.
Vermont Guard delivers relief:
People complain about police abuse, express anger at feds
September 16, 2005
"A distraught woman, mother of three, said: "We're just hanging on strong ... I'm just trying to look after my children ... We're trying to keep clean the best way we can, but it still has the whole filth and smell in it." <snip>
Addressing local officials, she became angry and proclaimed, "People came here and drew guns on us ... were about to beat up my son on his birthday because he told them not to search his bag," she said. "They came out from nowhere, just crept up on us. When it's dark, we can't see nothing. We didn't know what was going on. They draw guns on us, telling us to raise our hands up ... My little niece was right there, she had her baby and they still was drawing guns ... We had no choice but to put our hands up or we'd get shot. They said, `We saw you breaking into people's cars' and were gonna shoot somebody"<snip>
"The night before the Guard delivered food to this neighborhood, I rode with them on patrol less than a mile away. Two local officers from the sheriff's department pulled up to the Guard and told Guard members that "no one on this street is innocent." They further encouraged the Guard to shoot people, and said they would cover up such events.
To date, members of the Vermont National Guard have not fired a weapon."