FQMHAMD Plan: Security Officers limited to reporting, observing, and documenting

[lunanola]

Please be advised that the French Quarter-Marigny Historic Area
Management District (FQMHAMD) "Management and Operations Plan"
describes how the contracted Security Officers will act in the event
of an observed act of violence and/or felony as follows:

From Pages 12 & 13 of the Appendix section of the "Management &
Operations Plan" approved by the FQMHAMD Board of Commissioners on
9/7/10:

"Under no circumstances will an Armed Patrol Officer or Patrol
Supervisor un-holster his or her firearm."

And on Page 13: "The Patrol Officer or Patrol Supervisor will contact
his or her commanding officer via two-way radio immediately."

"The Patrol Officer or Patrol Supervisor will brandish and use FQMHAMD-
issued pepper spray with extreme caution and only if the offender has
physically assaulted or attempted to assault the Patrol Officer or
Patrol Supervisor."

"Patrol Officers or Patrol Supervisors that observe violent offenses
and/or a felony in progress will attempt to record as much data
concerning the engagement, including the location, time, offense, and
other salient information."

"After an engagement with an offender and/or suspicious person, the
Patrol Officer or Patrol Supervisor will author a full incident report
using the FQMHAMD-issued mobile device."

Source: http://bit.ly/cVG0md

On January 28, 2010, security officers in Seattle, WA (whose orders
were to only "observe and report" illegal activity in the Downtown
Seattle Transit Tunnel) did not intercede in an incident where
violence was observed.

The security officers failed to act to stop a beating in which one
teenage girl punched another girl on the Westlake Station tunnel
platform, then kicked her six times in the head as three guards looked
on and called for help. Moments earlier, the victim had tried to avoid
the attack by standing near the security officers as the surveillance
video shows.

The video of this incident from the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel
security camera can be viewed via this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHZZdV3woM0
(Note that the security officers are wearing distinctive uniforms with
yellow vests).

Is the French Quarter truly going to be any safer if the patrolling
security officers are limited to acting defensively only in
circumstances where an "offender has physically assaulted or attempted
to assault the Patrol Officer or Patrol Supervisor?"

Are an average of three patrolling Security Officers at any given time
who are limited to reporting, observing, and documenting incidents
worth an annual tax expense of $998,994 ($2,996,982 over the lifetime
of the projected three-year budget)?