JURIST - Paper Chase: New Orleans police ready for forced evacuations

[JURIST] New Orleans police are preparing to carry out Mayor Ray Nagin's forced removal order [JURIST document] Friday as the last voluntary evacuees left the city Thursday. Earlier this week, Nagin authorized the forced removal [JURIST report] of anyone not engaged in the Hurricane Katrina [JURIST news archive] recovery effort. The legal basis [CNN Q&A] for Nagin's order comes from §727 [text] of the Louisiana Homeland Security and Emergency Assistance and Disaster Act [JURIST document], which gives power to parish presidents to "Direct and compel the evacuation of all or part of the population from any stricken or threatened area within the boundaries of the parish if he deems this action necessary for mitigation, response, or recovery measures." Between 5,000 and 10,000 residents are believed to remain in the city, and New Orleans Police Chief Eddie Compass has said that officers will use the "minimum amount of force" necessary in order to remove the remaining holdouts. AP has more.

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