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History And Explanation Of The Posse Comitatus Act (PCA)

1031 Words5 Pages

A Disastrous Law
In 1878, the Posse Comitatus Act (PCA) was born out of necessity to keep our Nation’s Federal Armed Forces from becoming politicized, used as a regional militia, or for Law Enforcement purposes. This essay provides history and analysis of the Posse Comitatus Act (PCA) and it’s relation to the use of the military for law enforcement in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Total disorganization of command and control during Hurricane Katrina emergency response proved that the Posse Comitatus Act (PCA) should be repealed, or at least revised.
History and Explanation of the Posse Comitatus Act
What is the Posse Comitatus Act and how did it come about? “The Judicial Act of 1798 allowed any U.S. federal marshal to create a Posse …show more content…

There became an obvious need for immediate assistance from the National Guard and the Active Duty Army to stop looters, crime, and other chaos that ensued shortly after the flood. Gaining assistance from state controlled National Guard units was not overly difficult. Unfortunately, use of Federal soldiers comes with the stipulation that “the Governor of the affected state must request use of the resources of the DoD”. (Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance) The Governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Blanco and her staff were already failing to control and lead emergency efforts. Unfortunately, she still did not want to relinquish control over the situation because she feared it would weaken her political platform as a female Democrat. Additionally, requesting the help of Federal Active Duty soldiers would place Republican President Bush, as Commander in Chief of the military, in ultimate, if only temporary, control of the fate of New Orleans. Many lives were undoubtedly lost because of the infighting and bickering between State and Federal Government and the failure to centralize command and effectively direct various emergency assets. The aforementioned spark of fear and misunderstanding turned into a flame as the misconception spread to the public that New Orleans was under Martial Law. Some believe that this misconception may have even been the catalyst that emboldened armed citizens to fire upon U.S. Army Helicopters and personnel. In this case, the PCA only added difficulty to an already terrible situation. Still, we must not forget it’s base roots are noble and in line with the freedoms inherent to

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