Yes, they were doing it on purpose.

I'm mostly avoiding wallowing in Katrina news, but damn.

Just read a first-person account by a couple EMT's who were in New Orleans for a conference when Katrina hit. I hope everyone and his brother reads this.

> As we approached the bridge, armed Gretna sheriffs formed a line across
> the foot of the bridge. Before we were close enough to speak, they began
> firing their weapons over our heads. This sent the crowd fleeing in
> various directions. As the crowd scattered and dissipated, a few of us
> inched forward and managed to engage some of the sheriffs in
> conversation. We told them of our conversation with the police commander
> and of the commander's assurances. The sheriffs informed us there were
> no buses waiting. The commander had lied to us to get us to move.
>
> We questioned why we couldn't cross the bridge anyway, especially as
> there was little traffic on the 6-lane highway. They responded that the
> West Bank was not going to become New Orleans and there would be no
> Superdomes in their City. These were code words for if you are poor and
> black, you are not crossing the Mississippi River and you were not
> getting out of New Orleans.

The good news (because I need some right about now) is that this account is also full of everyday people getting together and taking care of each other, despite the "relief" operation's best efforts.

Go read the full article.