The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: Hazcat on July 28, 2009, 09:43:43 AM
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By Denise Malan (Contact)
Sunday, July 26, 2009
A new state law will allow police to arrest people who don’t leave town under mandatory evacuation orders.
As it stands, officials cannot compel people to evacuate, only warn that those who stay behind won’t have any emergency services at their disposal. The new law gives county judges and mayors the power to authorize use of “reasonable force” to remove people from the area.
The law, passed this year, takes effect Sept. 1, in the heart of hurricane season in Texas. It also applies to other disasters, such as fires or floods.
Don’t expect police to go door to door arresting people or forcing them from their homes if a hurricane is headed toward Corpus Christi.
“If the hurricane is arriving here, we’re going to be doing the best we can to hunker things down, to make sure we have as many special-needs patients evacuated, to prevent crime and looting,” Corpus Christi Police Cmdr. Mark Schauer said. “We’re going to have a hard enough time preventing crime, let alone arresting people who don’t leave.”
County Judge Loyd Neal agreed that arrests for ignoring orders are unlikely.
“I don’t have a jail big enough to put 20,000 people in,” Neal said. “You have to hope people will use good sense. The majority of people usually do.”
Schauer sees the law more as a tool to compel people to leave, or to be used in special situations. For example, officials could issue a mandatory evacuation for the beaches, giving police the authority to arrest people who go storm-watching and put themselves in danger.
A man died after being swept off a Packery Channel jetty last summer as he watched swells caused by Hurricane Ike as it headed toward Galveston.
The law also makes people who must be rescued after ignoring mandatory evacuation orders civilly liable for the costs of the rescue.
A mandatory evacuation order often is a course of last resort, for a variety of economic and logistical reasons. Hospitals and nursing homes must move patients, and businesses must let workers leave town.
The evacuation provision is part of a larger bill overhauling the emergency response code after Hurricane Ike. The bill also directs the Governor’s Division of Emergency Management to develop a plan for providing services and supplies during the first five days after a disaster.
http://www.caller.com/news/2009/jul/26/police-can-use-force-compel-hurricane-evacuation/
Comments at link
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It is the law here now, but it is unlikely to happen. There are too few cops to enforce such an order and no place to put the people they arrest.
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It is the law here now, but it is unlikely to happen. There are too few cops to enforce such an order and no place to put the people they arrest.
"Unlikely" doesn't cut it in my book. This is bad law.
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"Unlikely" doesn't cut it in my book. This is bad law.
Haz, I'm halfway with you. As an an American, being a dumbass is a god given right and someone's got to win the Darwin award. On the other hand, as a fellow Floridian, you and I both know that rescuers will go try to save these silly sobs,even if they have been warned.They shouldn't, but they will, because thats their nature. I'm kind of torn on this one
FQ13
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"Unlikely" doesn't cut it in my book. This is bad law.
I agree. The idea behind the law was to prevent a New Orleans like situation from happpening here. The difference is that our leaders dont cut and run when there is trouble.
One of the lasting images I have of the NO flood is the 1000 school buses drown in the bus yard. All they had to do was allow the drivers to get their bus then drive around their neighborhoods picking up people who wanted to leave. Instead the mayor and the other leaders left town when problems began and let the buses and their people drown.
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FQ,
Write a law that says if ya stay and need rescue you have to pay.
If they try to force me off my property there will be hell to pay!
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"Do as we say or we will make you" is never a good precedent
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FQ,
Write a law that says if ya stay and need rescue you have to pay.
If they try to force me off my property there will be hell to pay!
The charge you with rescue blues! A great song and a good policy. If our pols have the balls to implement it, I'm on board. Problem solved.
FQ13
PS, a little Ryan Adams
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-p73I585as
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FQ,
Write a law that says if ya stay and need rescue you have to pay.
If they try to force me off my property there will be hell to pay!
I'm with you, Haz, this is bad law. Good intention but you know what they say about good intentions and the road to hell.
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I agree with charging people for their rescues. Especially if there is mandatory evacuation. But to make it a crime to stay in your own home sets a VERY dangerous precedent. It's just like the first stimulus passed by Bush. Once you start down that kind of road, where can you draw the line?
But if people know that THEY themselves will be financially responsible for their actions. MOST tend to err on the side of caution.
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Real bad law. I just do not need someone else telling what to do. I've ridden out a few hurricanes ( when I was in the Navy, they would fly the aircraft out and leave the ground pounders to fend for them selves). I take FULL responsibility for my actions.
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Having survived an early 70's earthquake in southern California, a tornado in Minnesota and a house fire, I am a full believer that property owners have the right to remain with their property!
Our home survived the earthquake with minimal damage, and there were no utility problems in our area, so there were no major health or safety issues to allow the authorities to try something.
Following the tornado there were no major damages to the house. Everything was limited to the several out buildings and trees. Our entire family remained and worked our way through it.
Following the fire, wife and kids went to her folks home in town for convienence. However, I remained camping out on the yard to #1 continue to operate the business, #2 work with the fire damage, and #3 protect the place from lookie lews and other creeps.
This is not the United Commune of America! I have the Right and Responsibility to care for my own! If I abandon my property in the face of a storm I am resigning to the fact it will be gone if I ever return.
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Any time a government passes a law to force people to do something in relation to their privately owned property it is a bad law and probably unconstitutional.
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I agree with the general consensus. This is a bad law that I oppose.
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just another reason why I will never move to texas.
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Thank God a commieforuinon that dose'nt want to come to TEXAS YAH HOOYIPPICAIAIA
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I can think of a couple Floridians who would be no benefit to the state as well.
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I can think of a couple Floridians who would be no benefit to the state as well.
At lest I didn't dis the Alamo Tom. Do I need to drag up old posts? :o
FQ13
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Been through the "best of them" Fran, Floyd, Bertha, and a couple that were just "teasers". Mandatory evacuations only applied to NON RESIDENTS. The Locals, except for the Darwin candidates, KNOW what that means...
3 to 7 days with NO HELP. NO Power, Nothing..... but what you stockpiled and planned for.
Here's a glimpse.... This went on for HOURS!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INRbzKd4_SM&feature=related
This is a bad law... Locals know that there will be NO rescue attempts for the immediate aftermath. Just as I have the Castle Doctrine in a SD situation, I can stay on my property, even if its a bad idea,...
I'll handle my own. Plus I kept my sign,,,moving to Florida,....and all...
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm182/twyacht/looters.jpg)
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At lest I didn't dis the Alamo Tom. Do I need to drag up old posts? :o
FQ13
Touchy. your not the ONLY person in Florida I say bad things about, in fact I forgot about YOU.
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Touchy. your not the ONLY person in Florida I say bad things about, in fact I forgot about YOU.
Y'all best not be talkin' 'bout little ol' me!
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How could you think such a thing !
One is no longer on this sight and the other NEVER was. ;D
But I did word it so as to bait FQ into revealing his guilty conscience. ;D
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Kind of a sticky subject. On one hand I understand why they would fear for the safety of another, but on the other, if the person is aware of the risks they are taking then why should law enforcement feel accountable?
In the end, I feel the land owner should be able to make their own decision without interference of legislation passed by some wanna be rescue ranger.
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If I'm living in an area I'm going to be prepared for the things that might happen there. In that case the Govt would be removing me from a prepared safe haven and unnecessarily adding me to the numbers needing help by already over burdened relief agencies who will be unable to respond in less than 3 days.
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first i've heard of this.......
been involved in evacations before but it involved wild fires.......and nothing "mandatory". Home owners could stay and self roast if they wanted to......
the purpose of the evacuation order was just to make it crystal clear that they were on their own as far as local and county services.
The only folks we actually "hands-on" evacuated were nursing home residents and assisted living residents and we used ambulances and school busses for that.
this is a scare tactic. we got a lot more important things to be doing. Sounds more like by ignoring the order then they are subject to fine afterwards and restitution for rescue services. Restitution and fines thru criminal courts or under civil courts.......problem with that is (if you have to be rescued) more than likely you have lost everything in the diaster so where's the money?
we will be getting our "update" meetings in a month or so........i'll be looking for this one.......
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first i've heard of this.......
been involved in evacations before but it involved wild fires.......and nothing "mandatory". Home owners could stay and self roast if they wanted to......
the purpose of the evacuation order was just to make it crystal clear that they were on their own as far as local and county services.
The only folks we actually "hands-on" evacuated were nursing home residents and assisted living residents and we used ambulances and school busses for that.
this is a scare tactic. we got a lot more important things to be doing. Sounds more like by ignoring the order then they are subject to fine afterwards and restitution for rescue services. Restitution and fines thru criminal courts or under civil courts.......problem with that is (if you have to be rescued) more than likely you have lost everything in the diaster so where's the money?
we will be getting our "update" meetings in a month or so........i'll be looking for this one.......
Thanks, we will appreciate a factual update.
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first i've heard of this.......
been involved in evacations before but it involved wild fires.......and nothing "mandatory". Home owners could stay and self roast if they wanted to......
the purpose of the evacuation order was just to make it crystal clear that they were on their own as far as local and county services.
The only folks we actually "hands-on" evacuated were nursing home residents and assisted living residents and we used ambulances and school busses for that.
this is a scare tactic. we got a lot more important things to be doing. Sounds more like by ignoring the order then they are subject to fine afterwards and restitution for rescue services. Restitution and fines thru criminal courts or under civil courts.......problem with that is (if you have to be rescued) more than likely you have lost everything in the diaster so where's the money?
we will be getting our "update" meetings in a month or so........i'll be looking for this one.......
Thanks deputy,
Shoulda known that they wouldn't do such a thing in our beloved Lonestar state.
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just don't know right now.........
"new" laws do frequently kick in either in Sept or in Jan...........
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Please keep us informed deputy125. Thanks.