Louisiana National Guard Will Remain In New Orleans To Help Police
by Bill Barrow - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

BATON ROUGE -- About 100 Louisiana National Guardsmen will remain on police duty in New Orleans through March 1, a legislative panel decided Friday.

But some lawmakers from outside the metropolitan area bristled at the city's request for continued aid, spending several minutes brow-beating Police Superintendent Warren Riley about his department's repeated trips to the Capitol for help since Hurricane Katrina.

Riley defended the city's progress and promised lawmakers that Friday would be his last appearance before the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget. "We should be comfortable by March 1," Riley said, highlighting the New Orleans Police Department's ongoing recruiting campaign and the impending graduation of the latest officer training class.

The committee authorized more than $1.8 million to cover the Guard's personnel, lodging and operation expenses. There has been a National Guard presence in the city since the post-Katrina flooding, with the aid being extended several times as the NOPD rebuilds its force after losing hundreds of officers.