Ray Nagin Proves He’s An Idiot Again
The above photo was run by the Times-Picayune newspaper in the New Orleans area and shows a photo op with New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Police Superintendent Warren Riley where more than $1 million in new armament and other equipment, largely for use by the SWAT squad in emergency and riot situations, including a fully equipped mobile command post, two armored cars and modern assault rifles were displayed for the press. The photo caused an uproar and caused criticism by the public since it showed Nagin pointing a weapon at Riley. Anyone who has had any weapons training (either formal or informal) knows to NEVER point a weapon at anyone unless you plan on shooting them. In protest, the Mayor’s office issued a press released criticizing the Times-Picayune and for a short time it was published on NOLA.com which is where the Times-Picayune has it’s online publications. I knew I should have copied the text because I correctly predicted that it would be taken down since the Times-Picayune has a long history of caving to political bullying which is exactly what Nagin did and exactly what the T-P did in response. The picture is also accompanied by a video which shows Nagin moving the weapon about which he not only pointed at Riley but reporters as well. However, the T-P issued the following explanation why they took the Mayor’s press release, the picture itself, public comments and also the T-P’s initial reasoning why they chose to show the picture:
A photo in some Metro sections Wednesday showed a laughing Mayor Ray Nagin pointing an M-4 rifle at Police Superintendent Warren Riley at a news conference to announce new crimefighting equipment purchased by the New Orleans Police Department.
A review of a video taken at the event shows that the camera captured a split second as the gun was being lowered that made it appear to be deliberately pointed at the chief. However, the mayor clearly did not deliberately point the gun at Riley.
The photo prompted two letters and a razz on the editorial page criticizing the mayor, which appeared in some Thursday editions.
After a review of the video Wednesday night, the razz and the letters were removed from Thursday’s later editions. Had editors seen the video earlier, the letters and the razz would not have been published.
The newspaper regrets the error and apologizes to the mayor.
Well I saw the video via WDSU website and although WDSU and Nagin’s office are trying to spin it, even the video shows Nagin being completely irresponsible in his unsafe handling of a weapon but waving it around the way he did. Sure it’s only a couple of seconds, but if the weapon was loaded and went off, the muzzle velocity of the bullets is measured in milliseconds and would have a high probability of hitting someone. In short, WDSU’s report, Nagin’s press release and the T-P’s apology is a load of crap. There was no error on T-P’s part, only cowardice in not standing by their original, and proper, stance.
The complete video of the photo-op shows Nagin moving the weapon in a clear unsafe manner. In doing so he pointed the weapon at Chief Riley as well as members of the press and others present. Although Nagin did not intend to do so, he inadvertently presented a bad example for weapons safety and rather than apologize for his error, would rather blame the newspaper for publishing a photo showing Nagin’s stupidity. Nagin has only himself to blame yet in typical Nagin fashion is trying to blame other. Congratulations, New Orleans, this is the maroon you elected not once but TWICE as your mayor. You wanted idiocy and incompetency, you got it in abundance.
A New Orleanian’s perspective here. Also more here with some portions of the video as well showing Nagan’s irresponsibility.
Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Rosemary’s Thoughts, 123beta, Right Truth, Shadowscope, Stuck On Stupid, Leaning Straight Up, Cao’s Blog, Big Dog’s Weblog, Conservative Cat, Pursuing Holiness, Adeline and Hazel, Diary of the Mad Pigeon, Allie is Wired, third world county, Faultline USA, Nuke Gingrich, Woman Honor Thyself, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, Pirate’s Cove, Celebrity Smack, The Pink Flamingo, Wolf Pangloss, A Newt One, Dumb Ox Daily News, Right Voices, and The Yankee Sailor. Also thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
February 16th, 2008 at 12:38 am
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February 16th, 2008 at 8:00 am
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February 16th, 2008 at 10:42 am
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