New Orleans, the bloody city (again)

It hasn't been even a month since the National Guard troops pulled out.  And already it looks like we're on our way back to becoming a violent city where nighttime pedestrians can get blown away.  The levees aren't fixed yet, but for awhile the crime problem was solved.  Not anymore. 

Interestingly, this brutal murder isn't even a front page story.  I guess it's assumed that we all accept that our crime problem will return.  I think that's a bad assumption.  I'm not going to stay here in this city if the crime problem starts to return, and I'm pretty sure a lot of other people feel the same way.

Comments

[Aaron]

I was on Frenchman last night! That's horrible to hear.

[Brian]

Let's see ... a city with a diminished police force, a population that's largely stressed out, workers from all over the USA, large portions of the city veiled in darkness ... where's the impetus for the criminal element not to return?

Add to that the disarming of both resident and refugee New Orleanians by the CHP, Nat'l Guard units, and NOPD and you've got a ready-made victim base.

It's a sad state of affairs, and you're right that things like this should get more press. Of course, so should the opposite, where a law-abiding citizen handles law enforcement when the police force isn't available.

[dave rhoden]

I didn't know Mike Frey but some of my friends did. I did know Chris Briede, who was killed with a shotgun in his home a few years back. I would think that being acquainted with someone who becomes a murder victim would be a rare thing, but I guess not in New Orleans. Or maybe it's not the town, it's the percentages, when you know a lot of people. I really have no one but these criminals to blame, but still...I'm glad I don't live in New Orleans.

[Jackie]

A New Orleans native now living on the East Coast, I was in town last week/weekend for a wedding and got mugged two days prior and two blocks away from where this murder took place....the night before I was robbed, a lady was also robbed on the same street. Is it me, or should the police be patrolling an area that is clearly this kind of attention?

[Jackie]

A New Orleans native now living on the East Coast, I was in town last week/weekend for a wedding and got mugged two days prior and two blocks away from where this murder took place....the night before I was robbed, a lady was also robbed on the same street. Is it me, or should the police be patrolling an area with this kind of attention?

[Colby]

I'm from New Orleans and I love it there, but after living somewhere else where the crime rate is 1/10th what it is there has really opened my eyes to what life should be like...like not having to ask 13 year olds to please not sell drugs in front of your business...

[Perry D.]

So when are you relocating to Panama? (saw your piece from last year in the PanamaGuide)

[Bill]

Hi ! Your site is very interesting. Thank you.

[Mike Shannon]

Hey - This URL came up in a Google search for my murder friend Chris Briede. It sickens me that the guy who killed him - Bryan Nelson - could be sentenced to as little as 20 years on December 1, 2006! So, we are starting a letter writing campaign to hold the Judge Carl Barbier accountable for the sentence he hands down.

US District Court,Eastern District of LouisianaSection J - Judge Carl J. Barbier500 Poydras Street, Room C256New Orleans, LA 70130