Louisiana Targets Instances of Price-Gouging

ROBERT SIEGEL, host:

This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Robert Siegel.

And joining us now from Baton Rouge is Charles Foti, who is the attorney general of the state of Louisiana and, before becoming attorney general in 2004, spent 30 years as the criminal sheriff of Orleans Parish that is in New Orleans.

Mr. CHARLES FOTI (Louisiana State Attorney General): It's a pleasure to be here.

SIEGEL: How long before law and order returns to New Orleans?

Mr. FOTI: Well, actually it's returning right now. In the process that you've had--this is almost like a war zone, OK? It's like that a city has been shelled and there's only maybe one way out. As we were rescuing people that were trapped on their roofs or in their attics, everybody's attention from the NOPD turned to the rescue effort, because most of the time when you have these type of problems, the best in people comes out. But in this case we have a small criminal element decided to take advantage of the situation. From the public safety side, we had two jails that were flooded. They had no electricity. They had no air. They had no food, no water.

SIEGEL: Where are the inmates of those jails today?

Mr. FOTI: They have been scattered through the state of Louisiana in Department of Corrections facilities throughout the state. In that process we had to put them in small boats, transport them to an overpass and then build scaffolding to get them down from the overpass because that's how high the water is, to where the buses were and then transport them out.

SIEGEL: Attorney General Foti, let me ask you about a couple of scenes...

Mr. FOTI: Sure.

SIEGEL: ...that we've heard described out of New Orleans. One of them is a police precinct with police inside defending themselves from gunmen outside. Another is--we've heard this from people via e-mail--police officers getting out of their uniforms to try to get out of New Orleans because they fear their safety would be at risk if they were seen in their uniforms. It seems...

Mr. FOTI: Let me...

SIEGEL: It seems that there's a pretty bad relationship between whoever is left in the city and the police at this point.

Mr. FOTI: You know, when you raise your hand and you swear to uphold the constitutional laws of the United States of America and the constitutional laws of the state of Louisiana, you have made a solemn oath to serve and protect the public. If that did happen, that's despicable. For 30 years we went through hurricanes and floods and as much as I wanted to leave town, the only thing I could do was try to get my family out of town because I had a duty. I had a job. In the process of people shooting at police, those are criminals, not ordinary people. They were taking advantage of the situation to try to get that.

SIEGEL: But do you think that all of the uniformed law enforcement officers have been honoring their oath to protect the citizenry over these past few days, or have they deserted the field?

Mr. FOTI: The majority of the law enforcement officers, the fire department officers, the EMS people, the first responders have done acts of heroism.

SIEGEL: I'm just curious, that's your city, New Orleans...

Mr. FOTI: Yes, sir.

SIEGEL: ...and I'm just wondering...

Mr. FOTI: I--that's my home. And I am also one of the homeless people, but I am here working.

SIEGEL: You mean, your home itself was...

Mr. FOTI: My home, I haven't seen it, but, you know, your heart--you face it--you feel that your heart says one thing and your mind says another. OK? Your heart says there's hope and your mind says it's destroyed because it's under probably 10 or 20 feet of water. But you say, `We'll just have to go back and rebuild.'

SIEGEL: So you have confidence in New Orleans and...

Mr. FOTI: I have confidence...

SIEGEL: ...in the city leaders?

Mr. FOTI: I have confidence in the people of New Orleans. I have confidence in the city of New Orleans. I have confidence in the people of the state of Louisiana, and our state will rise to the occasion. Right now, the major role we have to do from the attorney general's office standpoint--OK?--is put the criminal justice system back together, put the civil justice system back together, make sure that everybody's rights are protected, make sure that this is still a rule of law and order.

SIEGEL: Well, Attorney General Charles Foti in Baton Rouge, thanks a lot for talking with us today.

Mr. FOTI: It's been my pleasure.

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