This is breaking news on the
New York Times' website, and there's no article written up on it yet.
[Update: 1:30PM]
Thanks to a comment below for the link. The NY Times now has a full article on this.
I served this department for 26 years and have taken it through some of the toughest times of its history. Every man in a leadership position must know when it's time to hand over the reins," Compass said at a news conference. "I'll be going on in another direction that God has for me."
Neither Compass nor Mayor Ray Nagin would say whether Compass was pressured resign.
"It's a sad day in the city of new orleans when a hero makes a decision like this," Nagin said. "He leaves the apartment in pretty good shape and with a significant amount of leadership."
We already saw the news this morning that the Police are going through the ringer with a reported
249 police who left their posts in the Katrina aftermath:
Nearly 250 police officers -- roughly 15 percent of the force -- could face a special tribunal because they left their posts without permission during Hurricane Katrina and the storm's chaotic aftermath, the police chief said.
Police Superintendent Eddie Compass plans to assemble a tribunal of four of his assistant chiefs to hear each case and sort the outright deserters from those with a legitimate reason for not showing up for work. In all, 249 officers were found to have been absent without permission, he said in an interview published Tuesday in The Times-Picayune.
Along with Michael Brown's "testimony" today, does this portend a further blaming of the locals for the Katrina catastrophe? It seems like the hawks are circling. They're finding their footing again and getting a new talking point: don't blame Bush, blame Nagin, Blanco, Compass, etc. (i.e. blame the Democrats)
Thoughts?