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Police State USA
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01/11/06, Arctic Beacon
Were U.S. Government Saboteurs
Involved In A Fatal Shootout With New Orleans Police Officers
On Sept. 4 At The Danziger Bridge?
Conflicting news and
police reports leave a host of questions to be answered about
what really happened between police and suspected U.S.
government agents.
11 Jan 2006
By Greg
Szymanski
The Sept. 4 gun battle, first killing five
and now two on the Danziger Bridge between what was first
reported as New Orleans police and U.S. military agents, has
turned into a hodge-podge of conflicting reports,
misstatements or outright official lies.
An initial
report by the Associated Press (AP) claimed five Department of
Defense (DOD) personnel were killed by officers at the bridge
located on the 5800 block of Chef Menteur Highway near Downman
Rd.
The original AP report, however, has since been
sanitized with the only copies of the original story kept for
posterity at a United Kingdom paper at
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlate and a foreign internet
service, La Voz de Aztlan, at
http://www.aztlan.net/police_kill_f .
But a quick check
of both sites reveals The Guardian link has been deleted and
Lo Voz had to provide through email today the original AP
story after their link was also inaccessible.
-----------------------------
The original AP
story since taken down reads in part:
"NEW ORLEANS (AP)
- Police shot eight people carrying guns on a New Orleans
bridge Sunday, killing five or six, a deputy chief said. A
spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers said the victims
were contractors on their way to repair a canal.
"The
contractors were walking across a bridge on their way to
launch barges into Lake Pontchartrain to fix the 17th Street
Canal, said John Hall, a spokesman for the Corps.
"Earlier Sunday, New Orleans Deputy Police Chief W.J.
Riley said police shot at eight people, killing five or six.
"The shootings took place on the Danziger Bridge,
which spans a canal connecting Lake Pontchartrain and the
Mississippi
River."
---------------------------
But what now
exists from AP is a changed version of the story, either
indicating reporter error or more likely an intentional switch
since no reference to the original story or even a correction
remains.
Notice the huge difference of how the
sanitized version of the AP story now reads, saying none of
the contractors were
killed:
-----------------------------
"NEW
ORLEANS (AP) - Police shot and killed at least five people
Sunday after gunmen opened fire on a group of contractors
traveling across a bridge on their way to make repairs,
authorities said.
"Deputy Police Chief W.J. Riley said
police shot at eight people carrying guns, killing five or
six.
"Fourteen contractors were traveling across the
Danziger Bridge under police escort when they came under fire,
said John Hall, a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers.
"They were on their way to launch barges into Lake
Pontchartrain to help plug the breech in the 17th Street
Canal, Hall said.
"None of the contractors was
injured, Mike Rogers, a disaster relief coordinator with the
Army Corps of Engineers, told reporters in Baton Rouge."
------------------------------
And before
looking at the official New Orleans police report and public
release of the incident, released Tuesday to the Arctic
Beacon, serious questions have to be asked regarding what has
turned out to be huge discrepancies in all the existing
reports or fabrications of the incident.
First, who
were the "military agents" originally reported killed while
making their way to the 17th Street Canal levee break? What
were they doing there and why did police open fire on federal
personnel, as originally reported?
And even more
sinister questions have been asked by La Voz after covering
the story last September:
"No one is saying anything
and it appears that the news story has now been swept under
the rug. Were these US Department of Defense personnel a
Special Forces group or Navy Seals with top secret orders to
sabotaged the levee? There are verifiable reports that at
least 100 New Orleans police officers have disappeared from
the face of the earth and that two have committed suicide.
Could these be policemen that died defending the levee against
sabotage by "federal contractors?"
Further, why was it
reported that it was necessary to shoot and kill five or six
DOD personnel when now the following official report released
by the New Orleans police indicates only two civilians were
killed and no defense contractors injured.
What makes
this even stranger is that for at least two months after the
story was released no one was talking about the incident, as
it was swept under the rug by AP and not followed up by any
major news outlets.
Although reporters make errors, tt
is hard to believe professionals can make this big an error,
as they first report five to six government personnel killed,
which has now been reduced to only two civilians.
The
following is the most up-to-date release by the New Orleans
Police Department's Public Affairs Office, telling a
completely different story than reported in the initial days
of the
shoot-out:
----------------------------
"New
Orleans, La. --This morning members of the New Orleans Police
Department issued an update regarding the attempted murder of
a Deputy Sheriff with the St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office,
as well is seven members of the New Orleans Police Dept. The
incident culminated into the shooting of six people, two of
which were fatal. The ordeal occurred September 4, 2001, at
approximately 9:00 a.m., on the Danziger Bridge, located in
the 5800 block of Chef Menteur Highway near Downman
Road.
"New Orleans Police Officers, Sergeant Robert
Gisevius and Kenneth Bowen, along with Officers Robert
Faulcon, Robert Barrios, AnthonyVillavaso, Michael Hunter and
Ignatius Hills, all responded to a call for assistance, two
officers 'down" under the Danziger
Bridge.
"Simultaneously, Deputy Sheriff David Ryder of
the St. I.andry Parish Sheriff's Office requested immediate
help from the New Orleans Police Department because he and
volunteer rescue personnel (with boats) were receiving gunfire
from several persons on the same bridge.
"As the
officers drove into the area they were met with gunfire from,
at least four suspects at the base of the bridge. The officers
positioned themselves and began an exchange of gunfire. The
gunmen, along with three other persons, totaling seven, jumped
over the side of the concrete barrier onto a walkway,
approximately three feet high, and continued the exchange of
gunfire, when five persons were shot by officers.
"They
are believed to be New Orleans residents and identified as: an
unidentified gunman who sustained a gunshot wound to his body
and died cm die scene; 19 year-old gunman Jose Holmes who
sustained gunshot wounds to his body and is listed in stable
condition at nearby hospital; 44-year-old Leonard Bartholomew
sustained gunshot wounds to his heel and head and has been
released from the hospital; 39-year-old Susan Bartholomew
sustained * gunshot wound to her right arm and leg and has
been released from the hospital; 17- year-old Leisha
Bartholomew was wounded in the abdomen and leg and was treated
and released from the hospital.
"Forty-nine-year-old
Lance Madison was one of the suspects who ran across the
Danziger Bridge along with a second unidentified gunman
Madison was seen discarding his handgun into the Industrial
Canal. The second suspect continued running to a neaiby mote
and was confronted by a New Orleans Police Officer. The
suspect reached into his waist and turned toward the officer
who fired one shot fatally wounding him. Lance Madison was
apprehended a short time later in the same area by the
Louisiana State Police.
"When Jose Holmes is released
from the hospital, he will be arrested on eight counts of
attempted murder of police officers, along with Lance Madison,
Leonard Bartholomew, Susan Bartholomew and Leisha Bartholomew
were not arrested pending further review as to their
involvement; however, the District Attorney is being
consulted.
"There is no confirmation that the families
of the two decreased suspects were notified. Orleans Parish
Coroner's chief investigator John Gagliano will release their
names once the families are notified.
"There were
separate reports to the police department of sniper fire in
the same area. Members of the Louisiana State Police were
assisting and were in the process of responding to those
reports when the exchange of gunfire
began."
----------------------------
For more
informative articles, go to www.arcticbeacon.com
Editor's Note: CORRECTION. In the Jan 9, 2006, article
about the possibility of the levees being blown, we
inadvertently put in the 17th St. Canal levee when we meant
the Industrial Canal. The change has been made an we apologize
for the error.
Greg Szymanski
Listen to my
Radio Broadcast live Monday night at 8pm Pacific time on
LewisNews, returning Jan. 1 2006 Radio
http://webs.lewisnews.com/radio/index.htm. Greg is also
regular on Rense.com the first Thursday of every month at 9pm
pacific time.
Greg also has his own daily show on the
Republic Broadcast Network. Go to www.rbnlive.com and will be
starting a daily program on the Genesis Communications Network
soon at www.gcnlive.com Greg Szymanski is an independent
investigative journalist and his articles can been seen at
www.LewisNews.com. He also writes for American Free Press and
has his own site
www.arcticbeacon.com
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