New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick confirmed that the city had effective anti-vehicle barriers available to be deployed on New Year’s Eve, but says they weren’t because she was unaware of their existence.
Questions remain unanswered surrounding the horrific events in the city which saw a Texas man inspired by Islamic State mow down pedestrians on Bourbon Street, killing at least 14 in the process and wounding dozens more.
The city had removed anti-vehicle bollards due to functional issues and was in the process of replacing them. However, officials opted to use police patrol cars as a barrier instead, which were circumvented when the attacker drove on the sidewalk and onto Bourbon Street.
On Thursday, Superintendent Kirkpatrick confirmed that L-shaped Archer barriers had been installed, and the street was open for business. However, she gave a confusing response to a journalist asking where the anti-vehicle barriers had come from.
“Actually, we have them. I didn’t know about them, but we have them, and so we have been able now to put them out,” she told reporters, adding that it was “not a matter of pointing blame anywhere” given that the attacker was “hell-bent” on destruction. “This man was going to do his best, and if it hadn’t been on Bourbon, he was going to go somewhere else,” she added. “We have this. We’re going to implement it. End of story.”
Last year, Kirkpatrick herself was on duty when she struck two pedestrians with a vehicle.
Many were critical of the Superintendent’s response, and lack of action into preventing the heinous attack.
Others noted Kirkpatrick’s policing history in Oakland, CA, and more recently in New Orleans.
