Nagin Photo

[fletcher]

You guys remember that photo of Nagin playing with the gun?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,330722,00.html

Photo of New Orleans Mayor Playing With Gun Sparks Debate
Friday, February 15, 2008

A photograph in a Times-Picayune report Wednesday on the New Orleans Police Department's new crime-fighting equipment has set off a wave of controversy.

In the photo, Mayor Ray Nagin is smiling and seems to be aiming an assault rifle at Police Superintendent Warren Riley.

The picture has sparked debate amongst readers, talk radio hosts and bloggers over whether the mayor is actually pointing the gun at Riley.

Late Thursday, the Times-Picayune issued an apology to the mayor.

"A review of a video taken at the event shows that the camera captured a split second as the gun was being lowered that made it appear to be deliberately pointed at the chief," the paper wrote. "However, the mayor clearly did not deliberately point the gun at Riley."

Video shows the mayor playfully waving the gun in front of a crowd, leading some to say that Nagin did not intentionally take aim at the chief, wdsu.com reports.

A statement release by the City of New Orleans Mayors Office says, "The photo selected to depict the public safety press conference yesterday by the Times Picayune grossly misrepresented the Mayor of the City of New Orleans, the Superintendent of Police and the men and women of the police department."

The statement goes on to call the publication of the Nagin photograph a tragedy.

"The photo was taken out of context, was selected by our own local media and is now showcased across the nation as a mockery of all this city's recovery efforts," the mayor's office said in the statement.

Just got a kick out of this

 

[average_shooter]

Hmmm... if it were any of the rest of our faces in that picture we would have the cops coming round to ask some questions. But because he is who he is it becomes a "tragedy" that the picture has been circulated.

Maybe I should run for political office because more and more it seems they're the only ones with immunity...

 

[Poper]

"The photo was taken out of context

If it embarasses a liberal embarrassment, then it's taken out of context.

is now showcased across the nation as a mockery of all this city's recovery efforts," the mayor's office said in the statement.

Sorry, the Mayor's office is a mockery of NOLA.

I doubt Nagin will ever learn....

Pope

 

[lucky_fool]

You can see the video here:

http://www.wdsu.com/video/15301174/index.html

It's not as bad as the photo would seem (just being devil's advocate), but he still swept him COM.

I still don't know why the mayor felt the need to play around with the new rifles with the chief LEO while posing in front of an armored car. Isn't that the sort of thing banana republic dictators do?

 

[Cosmoline]

Isn't that the sort of thing banana republic dictators do?

Bingo. And look at the stars on that generalisimo police chief.

 

[jimbob86]

At least his boggerhook wasn't on the trigger.....

 

[cpttango30]

Regardless of how bad it was he should be happy it was not me. I react swiftly and violently when this happens. the one time it did I knocked the kid out cold. May not be very high road but he learned never to do that again. This happend to me while I was in the army. The PVT had a weapon with a magazine and the dust cover closed finger on the trigger.

 

[tjj]

This is typical of what you see at public and commercial ranges, hunting camps or anywhere people who have not been adequately safety trained are handling guns. It wasn't intentional but that's how bad sh8t happens.
The only ironic thing is that its the local lib media that spotlighted one of their own.

 

[MASTEROFMALICE]

At least his boggerhook wasn't on the trigger.....

No, his finger is nowhere near the trigger. In fact he's holding and playing with the rifle like he should be licking the windows on a short yellow bus.

 

[dcal]

I can't believe that the most outrage has been over the rule #2 violation, and not over the irony about what this picture states about his previous 2A (the real #2 violation).

I'm a bit more outraged at the fact he is still in charge of and is outfitting the perpetrators who kicked in doors and grabbed legal guns from law abiding citizens. Why aren't they talking about his unconstitutional behavior rather than clearing him of a safety rule violation? Why are they not commenting on the irony of these two despots wielding the same tools they unconstitutionally confiscated from American citizens?

 

[Sergeant Sabre]

"A review of a video taken at the event shows that the camera captured a split second as the gun was being lowered that made it appear to be deliberately pointed at the chief," the paper wrote.

There are actually two separate pictures:

And the above posted:


Two different angles. So, are we to believe that two separate cameras simultaneously and by chance captured the same exact "split second"? Or is it more likely that Nagin was goofing off, and two people took his picture?

Why can't people just own up to their stupidity?

 

[strangelittleman]

Yet another irresponsible, negligent act w/ potentally deadly consequences perpetrated by Mayor Nagin.....
To think people re-elect clowns like him and Mayors Marion Barry, Richard Daley, Gavin Newsome, time and again....
I guess Mao Tse Tung was right when he said, "People receive the governments they deserve."
A communist quote for communist mayoral regimes......

 

[dhoomonyou]

duh.

 

[fletcher]

After seeing the video, it looks like he pointed it at the chief, realized "whoops, probably shouldn't do that", then moved it off to the side.

 

[RKBABob]

He didn't intentionally point it as the police Super... he was just waving the rifle around in a crowded room when he accidentally pointed the deadly weapon at another giggling public official. See. That makes all the difference in the world!

.

 

[v35]

The statement goes on to call the publication of the Nagin photograph a tragedy.

Yes. Repeal the First Amendment! Stop all tragic publication of the truth!

"The photo was taken out of context, was selected by our own local media and is now showcased across the nation as a mockery of all this city's recovery efforts," the mayor's office said in the statement.

How on Earth can a photograph be "taken out of context"? Photographs have no "context" to take out!

One can only bring disgrace upon one's self. Nagin is doing fine with that.

 

[damien]

Nagan was reported to have said: "I'm the only one professional enough in this room to carry an AR-15!"

 

[The Annoyed Man]

Hey, the Chief got swept by a guy with an AR in his hands. If I were the Chief, I'd be PO'd.

 

[strangelittleman]

The only "tragedy" here is that Ray Nagin is still the mayor and has not been charged with several hundred counts of Negligent Homicide, stemming from the negligent performance of his mayoral duties before and after Hurricane Katrina.....

 

[2E8B]

Boy, looking at those two photos, I'd say if they werent taken at the exact same instant, they were a couple milliseconds apart... thats almost creepy.

 

[Titan6]

Video shows the mayor playfully waving the gun in front of a crowd, leading some to say that Nagin did not intentionally take aim at the chief, wdsu.com reports.

Famous last words of an idoit: "Hey you all, watch this!"

 

[2E8B]

Boy, looking at those two photos, I'd say if they werent taken at the exact same instant, they were a couple milliseconds apart... thats almost creepy.

 

[WinchesterAA]

there do seem to be an awful lot of camera flashes going on.. Doesn't seem hard at all to believe that tons of people were taking tons of pictures. The fact 2 people standing in 2 different places with 2 different cameras caught 2 different angles of the same event isn't surprising at all. I'm sure tons more were taken that caught it from the front, back, birdseye, closeup, etc etc they just didn't make it to the news.

Pretty funny that someone would circulate that in the news as people's minds when they look at a picture of a guy with an AR-15 pointing it at a cop and laughing tends to involve sketchy practices and makes people wonder what the deal is. Not mayoral behavior, but then again.. Taking gunporn pictures infront of a live audience doesn't seem like that great of an idea either so I'd say he got what he deserved and the pic's assumed context is probably more true than he wants people to know. Hence the discussion we're having now about Ray Nagin not liking the picture, even though it shows exactly what's going on. Ray Nagin playing with a gun.

Ray Nagin's a goofball.

 

[KelVarnson]

Boy, looking at those two photos, I'd say if they werent taken at the exact same instant, they were a couple milliseconds apart... thats almost creepy.

Boy, looking at those two photos, I'd say if they werent taken at the exact same instant, they were a couple milliseconds apart... thats almost creepy.

...that was funny...

 

[Robert Hairless]

Ray Nagin's a goofball.

I beg your pardon. Show some respect. Ray Nagin is New Orleans' chief goofball. Remember that enough goofballs in that wonderful city voted to elect and re-elect Ray Nagin. Even goofballs are entitled to choose their own leader.

Goofballs are not entitled to any of my money, though, and they shall have none of it directly from me or mine.