cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/435616
Cause of death: climate change, cops, cars
“So the police were blocking roads, the exit, some of the exit roads out,” he says. “And I’m assuming it’s because there’s been some downed power lines or some downed trees.” Maui Police Chief John Pelletier confirmed that at a news conference two weeks later. "We did not close or forbid people from getting out of Lahaina,” Pelletier said. “If there was a downed power line that was live, we wanted to make sure that you didn’t go over a downed live power line.”
“The gridlock would have left us there when the firestorm came,” said Cuevas-Reyes, 38. “I would have had to tell my children to jump into the ocean as well and be boiled alive by the flames or we would have just died from smoke inhalation and roasted in the car.”
Maybe police shouldn’t be the ones in charge of responding to natural disasters.
Or mental health crises.
Or protests.
Or crime.
Even when they don’t end up murdering people I hear they can be quite a nuisance for the fire/medical emergency calls they’re required to show up for.
The police had the time to put up roadblocks, but not help move the tree branches?
Also, driving over downed power lines in a car is not that bad, as the car tires act as insulators and the car body acts as an OK Faraday cage.Since police were already there, they could have instructed drivers to cross slowly and avoid touching metal in their cars.
Events like these due to chronically incompetent, underfunded, and privatized government serves only to encourage calls for MORE PRIVATIZATION.
