New Orleans Police Chief Details Hostage Try

Eddie Compass told Smith, "They were very frustrated that the bus hadn't come (to take them away from the convention center). They had some gangsters from the city who … recognized me and they said, 'If we take that (curse) Eddie Compass, I bet you we can get a bus.' He got some individuals to help him. They tried to rush me and overtake me.

"My security team fought them back and they got me in a vehicle and got me out of there. The three individuals, with two National Guardsmen, those five individuals helped. There were about 15 individuals that attempted to take me. The (other five) saved my life."

Compass continued to staunchly defend his department, which has been under intense fire. Some 300 to 400 members are unaccounted for, and at least two have committed suicide.

Asked if the force is severely traumatized, Compass responded, "Quite the opposite. We are proud of what we did. People are focusing on the ones who weren't here. What about the 1,200 who were here, who endured no food, no water, no ammunition, no clothes, no transportation, no communication?

"We held this city. My SWAT team did 30 entries inside the convention center whereas they couldn't fire back at the criminals who were firing at them. These are the people we should be talking about.

"The officers unaccounted for, we're trying to determine if some have been killed, or they quit. We're gonna take care of that. Right now, preservation of human life is paramount.

"Our police department is in very good shape. You figure, 1,200 people came out of 1,700, that's a large percentage."

Compass said the widely reported mandatory evacuation of New Orleans won't actually become mandatory until everyone seeking to get out is able to.

"One of the good things about this police department is, we're used to dealing with millions of people for Mardi Gras," he said. "This is the best-trained police department in the United States when it comes to crowd control.

"We are a very sensitive police department. We use the minimum amount of force. It's analogous to when you bring your child to a doctor to get a shot. It's painful, but you know if your child does not get that shot, they could die.

"So we will be sensitive and use a minimal amount of force and bring psychological experts in. … So I think we will do this in an expeditious and efficient manner."

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/09/08/earlyshow/main824713.shtml