Did the authorities fail the victims of the New Orleans terror attack? It’s barely in question, surely.
And yet, consider the response of Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick of New Orleans police when I asked if she’d let them down by not having an appropriate security plan.
“That’s not correct, we would disagree with that.”
“It has to be a security failure?” I suggested.
New Orleans Police Department chief Anne Kirkpatrick speaks with police officers during a visit to Bourbon Street on Thursday. Pic: Reuters
“We do know that people have lost their lives,” she responded. “But if you were experienced with terrorism, you would not be asking that question.”
With that, she was escorted away from gathered journalists by her media handlers.
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Superintendent Kirkpatrick had been holding a short news conference at the end of Bourbon Street to herald its re-opening. It was just yards from the spot where a terrorist was able to drive through a gap in a makeshift line of obstructions and accelerate towards New Year crowds.
Invoking “experience with terrorism” is something to ponder. What experience told authorities they had adequate protection against a vehicle attack?
What experience told them it was appropriate to have a car’s width gap in makeshift street barricades.
What experience told them to contradict the security protocols of major cities around the world when it comes to large public gatherings?
Read more on this story:
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Brother of attack victim reveals last words
The victims who have been named so far
To many, the answer shouldn’t be talk of experience – it should be, simply: “Sorry.” Notably, it has seemed to be the hardest word in a series of briefings by authorities who have bristled at the notion of security failings.
I asked Jack Bech for his view. He lost his brother Martin, or ‘Tiger’ in the Bourbon Street attack. He told Sky News he watched the final moments of his brother’s life on a FaceTime call to an emergency room as doctors tried, but failed, to save him.
It’s one heartbreaking story among dozens in this city.
On security, he said: “You can’t blame them. That dude easily could have been walking through the crowd with a jacket on and a bomb strapped to his chest.”
True. But the least that might be expected is an acknowledgement of failure to stop the man who drove his weapon into the crowd because he was able to. They certainly can’t claim success.
A measure of contrition would, perhaps, help the healing in this city. Experience should tell them that, if nothing else.