On a day when Michael Brown, the former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, blamed state and local officials for the slow recovery response in the days following Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans top cop announced his own resignation from the force he served on for more than two decades.

Eddie Compass did not say if he was pressured to resign as New Orleans’ police superintendent, although many have directed blame his way as reports surfaced of desperate evacuees stripping businesses of food, water, and clothing and even more dangerous accounts were shared of shootings, rapes and carjackings.

Melissa Harris Lacewell, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, told BlackAmericaWeb.com that she believes the reports of lawlessness were likely exaggerated and that Compass, from a humanistic standpoint, had every right to step down given the fact that many of the 1,700-member force deserted their posts and at least two officers, believed to be friends of Compass, committed suicide.

“I completely understand how this might be, in a certain way, indicative to the overwhelming psychological and mental health toll that Katrina is going to have on everybody it touched,” Harris Lacewell said. “To think of what (Compass) must have personally experienced, I think I’d quit, too.”

Harris Lacewell said she hopes Compass didn’t resign based on the stories of widespread shooting, looting and other crimes, adding that many of those stories are now being recanted.

“I have to tell you, what I think is going to come out, especially if we really get an independent investigation, is that there was a heck of a lot less lawlessness than what has been reported,” Harris Lacewell said.

“My bet is that criminal activity went down the weekend of Katrina. On any given weekend, there have probably been more murders, more rapes, more burglaries than were reported during Katrina,” she continued. “The idea of lawlessness had more to do with serving the mainstream media instead of focusing on black people as victims of a terrible natural disaster. It was really about people trying to survive.”

Donald North, a professor with the Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, said he has spoken with people who evacuated to the Louisiana Superdome in the days immediately after Katrina hit. Although he believes that incidents of unspeakable violence did take place, North said he and others he’s spoken with today were sad to hear that Compass was calling it quits.

“I really kind of felt like it was too early in the game to be blaming people. And we’re all pretty disappointed that he stepped down because he shouldn’t be blaming himself,” North told BlackAmericaWeb.com.

“A lot of people are mad as hell about what was going on at the Superdome, but it was clear that the police superintendent did not have a plan of dealing with something of this magnitude,” North added.  “I don’t think in his own mind that he was able to really assess something like this and I don’t believe that he had enough support.”

During a press conference Tuesday, Compass expressed no feelings of having little support in maintaining order during one of the nation’s worst natural disasters. With New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin standing by his side, Compass seemed focused on moving ahead with his life, rather than laying blame on people for what happened in the past.

"I served this department for 26 years and have taken it through some of the toughest times of its history. Every man in a leadership position must know when it's time to hand over the reins," Compass said at a news conference. "I'll be going on in another direction that God has for me." Nagin considered it a sad day for the city when a “hero makes a decision like this.”

Lt. David Benelli, president of the union for rank-and-file New Orleans officers, said he was shocked by the resignation.

"We've been through a horrendous time," Benelli said told the Associated Press. "We've watched the city we love be destroyed. That is pressure you can't believe." Benelli would not criticize Compass.

Earlier in the day, the department said that about 250 police officers -- roughly 15 percent of the force -- could face discipline for leaving their posts without permission during Katrina and its aftermath. Each case will be investigated to determine whether the officer was truly a deserter or had legitimate reasons to be absent, Deputy Chief Warren Riley told the Associated Press.

Both North and Harris Lacewell believe that Compass’ resignation is another way for the federal government officials to push blame on anyone other than themselves.

“The Bush administration is using this guy as a scapegoat. I think a lot of people are going to try and pass the blame,” North said, adding that he can’t see Compass resurfacing to accept another job in law enforcement because he has been tarnished for his role in an uncontrollable situation.

While Harris Lacewell said Compass’ career is far from over, she does believe that members of the Bush administration will characterize Compass’ resignation as an admission of guilt.

“There’s no question that the federal government is going to work really hard to find scapegoats, particularly at the local and state level,” Harris Lacewell said. “They are going to want to share this burden as much as possible especially since those state and local folks tend to be African-American and Democrats. This type of thing will really minimize the political damage for them.”