Colonel Thoma Beron of the Louisiana National Guard appeared on The Situation Room this afternoon to talk about what really happened down in New Orleans before everyone was rescued. Abridge transcript follows…

On allegations of murder, rape and other violence at the Superdome in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina

BLITZER: You were inside the Superdome during those critical days; is that right?

COL. THOMAS BERON: I was, Wolf. We got there the night of the — of the hurricane on Monday night and stayed until everyone had left the Superdome and we had secured it.

BLITZER: So, what was going on inside in terms of murders, rapes, violence, mob action, if you will?

BERON: Well, essentially, Wolf, none of that. Certainly, there was some pushing and shoving matches, the typical thing you would see of a lot of people uncomfortable in close proximity. But none of the other things, assaults, homicides, none of that occurred. It was simply fabrication or exaggeration.

On New Orleans being largely violence-free in the aftermath of the hurricane

BLITZER: Let’s go back to those critical days in the Superdome, right where you were. It was relatively, in other words, you’re saying violent-free? Is that what you’re saying?

BERON: It was, Wolf. We had — we started with about 300 Guardsmen the first night. And then we escalated to a high of about 700. And we had fixed stations.

We had roving patrols. And we tried to interact with the people. Remember, Wolf, Louisiana National Guardsmen provided the bulk of this. And we live with these people. These are the people my kid goes to school with.

These are the people that I work with. I mean, these were not inmates or prisoners. These were people we live with who we were trying to protect. So, you know, we had a very good relationship with the people who had taken shelter at the Dome.

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Full Transcript

BLITZER: They seemed to symbolize the horror that befell New
Orleans, widespread stories of rapes, murders, mob rule inside the
Superdome and the Convention Center. But, for the most part, were they
just stories? At least, that’s the version, according to the commander
of the troops who secured one of those sites.

Joining us now from New Orleans is Colonel Thomas Beron of the
Louisiana National Guard.

Colonel, thanks very much for joining us.

You were inside the Superdome during those critical days; is that
right?

COL. THOMAS BERON, LOUISIANA NATIONAL GUARD: I was, Wolf.

We got there the night of the — of the hurricane on Monday night
and stayed until everyone had left the Superdome and we had secured it.

BLITZER: So, what was going on inside in terms of murders, rapes,
violence, mob action, if you will?

BERON: Well, essentially, Wolf, none of that.

Certainly, there was some pushing and shoving matches, the typical
thing you would see of a lot of people uncomfortable in close
proximity. But none of the other things, assaults, homicides, none of
that occurred. It was simply fabrication or exaggeration.

BLITZER: When Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans was on the “Oprah”
show on September 6, a few days later, he said — and I’m quoting now —
he said: “Watching dead bodies, watching hooligans killing people,
raping people, that’s the tragedy. People were trying to give us babies
that were dying.”

That was a reference he was making not to the Convention Center, but
to the Superdome. And what you’re saying is, that was a myth.

BERON: Well, I don’t want to speak for the mayor. He had a job to
do.

And — but I certainly — I was there the whole time and I didn’t
see any of that. And I don’t believe that was going on at all. I think
it was a tense time, Wolf. It was a time where the communication was
difficult., where, because of the water, we were a little bit of an
island. And he had a job to do. And I don’t want to speak for the
mayor, but…

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Well, without speaking for the — about the mayor…

BERON: That may been a little…

(CROSSTALK)

BERON: … exaggeration.

BLITZER: Without speaking about the mayor, what you’re saying is…

BERON: Sure.

BLITZER: … what you saw and your troops saw inside the Superdome
was nothing along those lines?

BERON: No, that’s correct, absolutely not.

BLITZER: But you have no firsthand knowledge of what was going on
at the Convention Center, which, by all accounts, was a lot worse; is
that right?

BERON: That’s right. I never got to the Convention Center. I
really focused on the Dome. That was the first place we landed by
helicopter on the night of the hurricane.

And, again, I stayed there. I was in charge of security and food
distribution until the Dome was emptied. And I didn’t go to the
Convention Center. But about, I don’t know, halfway through, we — we
— we put together a force under Colonel Jack Thibideaux (ph). And we
went and secured the Convention Center.

BLITZER: Well, what did you find when you got there? What — what
— from your own eyewitness experience?

BERON: At the Superdome?

BLITZER: No, at the Convention Center.

BERON: I mean — well, again, I didn’t go to the Convention
Center. I gave some security forces from the Superdome, when we had
that situation under control, and provided them to the force that went
to the Convention Center. So, I really don’t have any eyewitness
account of that. Everything I got was sort of second-hand.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: So, you have no first-hand knowledge of what happened at
the Convention Dome — at the Convention Center?

BERON: Not at all.

BLITZER: But what was — what did your troops tell you, though,
when they got back?

BERON: Well, I mean, they — they — really, the situation, because
we hadn’t had National Guard support and there wasn’t security there,
other than NOPD, for a good bit of the time, I think was — was a little
more chaotic, but, you know, I didn’t get many reports other than that.

BLITZER: All right.

Hold on one second, Colonel. We’re getting a developing story.

BERON: Sure.

BLITZER: Listen to this.

I want to bring in CNN’s Zain Verjee at the CNN Center. She is
working on a story. What are you picking up, Zain?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the New Orleans police chief,
Eddie Compass, is retiring. That’s what we are hearing. He’s going to
retire after a brief transition period.

We don’t know the reason he is retiring. As you well know, he’s
been very, very public in the aftermath of Katrina in New Orleans. Just
this day, he was saying only that 249 officers — that’s about 15
percent of the force — could face a special tribunal, because they left
their posts without permission during Hurricane Katrina and the storm’s
chaotic aftermath. He plans to assemble some sort of special tribunal
with assistant chiefs to hear some of these cases and sort out some of
the deserters that left their posts and just — that added to the
difficulties in the situation after Katrina.

But what we are hearing is that the New Orleans police chief, Eddie
Compass, is retiring. We will find out more information on why when we
come back — Wolf.

BLITZER: A developing story, indeed. Zain, thank you very much.

Let’s go back to New Orleans. Colonel Thomas Beron of the Louisiana
National Guard is speaking with us.

Let’s go back to those critical days in the Superdome, right where
you were. It was relatively, in other words, you’re saying
violent-free? Is that what you’re saying?

BERON: It was, Wolf.

We had — we started with about 300 Guardsmen the first night. And
then we escalated to a high of about 700. And we had fixed stations.
We had roving patrols. And we tried to interact with the people.
Remember, Wolf, Louisiana National Guardsmen provided the bulk of this.
And we live with these people. These are the people my kid goes to
school with.

These are the people that I work with. I mean, these were not
inmates or prisoners. These were people we live with who we were trying
to protect. So, you know, we had a very good relationship with the
people who had taken shelter at the Dome.

BLITZER: Was it a dysfunctional situation at the Dome during those
days, based on what you saw?

BERON: Well, it was an uncomfortable situation, Wolf, no doubt
about it. The power went out. And we were on emergency power. That
means that the Superdome was dark. The emergency power provided a
little light, but not a heck of a lot. There was no air-conditioning.
After about two days, the water pressure went down, and so the toilets
overflowed.

It was not a comfortable situation. And that, with the summer heat
in New Orleans, made it so. And the other part is that we had about
10,000 to 12,000 people who took shelter in the — in the Superdome
during the hurricane, but about — we think about 18,000 or 15,000
people came in the next few days afterward, where they were up on their
roofs and waded to the Superdome.

So, we really had overcrowding. And then, to top that off, the
Superdome roof started leaking. Initially, we had people in the studio
— in the stadium seats, like they were watching a football game. When
the roof started leaking, we got afraid that the Superdome roof might
collapse. So, we had to move people out of those seats and into the
hallways.

And that just made it more tough for those people inside, no
question about it.

BLITZER: All right, well, Colonel, thank you very much for your
service. Thanks for joining us here in THE SITUATION ROOM.

BERON: Sure.

BLITZER: Appreciate it very much. Good luck to you. Good luck to
everyone in Louisiana.