Chapter Appendix B - What Went Right
Section Local Officials
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Local Officials
Many of those called upon to do the toughest work were those that had lost the most. Members of local fire departments, police departments, and emergency service units worked tirelessly despite being victims themselves. Many lost their homes, cars, and possessions. Others lost their families and loved ones. Yet these very people returned to work to protect and serve the people to whom they had made a commitment. They often worked their shifts without knowledge of where there family was, or where they would sleep that night. Despite these obstacles, they continued to perform their duties.
Some members of the Waveland, MS Police Department stayed at their police station during the storm. There came a point when the flooding from the storm surge became so great that they clung desperately to a bush located in the front yard of the station for five hours. When the surge subsided, the men returned to their duties, rescuing and saving those that remained in the 7,000 person town.
When the officers of the Waveland Police Department wanted to return to their duty, a few problems arose. Cars, equipment, radios, they had lost it all. The State of Florida, which was leaning forward with their State Emergency Response Team (SERT), immediately responded following the storm. The State of Florida deployed personnel, equipment and commodities to Mississippi to aid response and recovery from the devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina. In the hours and days after the catastrophic storm, Governor Jeb Bush pledged the support of Florida to Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour. Resources from Florida were mobilized through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact. These efforts represent Florida's largest state-to-state assistance in history. Law Enforcement officers who are an integral part of the Florida SERT assisted the Waveland, MS Police Department by providing relief so police officers could return to their homes and account for their families.
Other cities and states sent their police and fire departments to help their fellow departments that were crippled by the storm. The Fire Department of New York City (FDNY) and the New York City Police Department (NYPD), two organizations that themselves suffered a devastating loss four years prior, deployed staff and equipment to assist in the recovery effort. FDNY sent over 660 fire department staff, including firefighters, fire officers, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, counselors, physicians, and communications personnel to assist the crippled New Orleans Fire Department.14 NYPD sent more than 300 officers to support the effort to restore order. Additionally, the State of New York sent more than 100 officers and the Department of Corrections sent more than 250 officers. The City's Urban Search and Rescue Team (New York Task Force One - NYTF-1), which is made up of NYPD, FDNY, and Office of Emergency Management personnel, was deployed to Mississippi at FEMA's request to support rescue efforts along the Gulf Coast. Fire trucks, police cruisers, school buses, transit buses, and other equipment and goods, bearing the seal of the State or City of New York were abundant during the response.
In Louisiana, the Livingston Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness conducted search and rescue missions in the City of New Orleans, for 16 days after the storm with the Arizona National Guard 855th Military Police, at great personal expense and risk. To Livingston's credit, they augmented the New Orleans 2nd District Police Department (NO 2nd PD), at their request, to perform these missions. At one point the NO 2nd PD ammunition was down to "the rounds on their belts" and their uniforms were starting to rot off their bodies. Livingston Parish provided supplies and medical care, and provided means of communication to the NO 2nd PD via the Parishes radios and satellite phones as the NO 2nd PD had no communications devices that worked.
The Parish also provided a critically important security function, escorting medical assets to and from hospitals trying to care for injured and sick, and providing cover for New Orleans Police personnel during their operations. The primary resource that responded to this request was the Sheriff's Department Special Response Team (SRT) who ran missions and provided security escorts. The SRT was specifically requested because of their outstanding skill, having won several State SRT competitions.
The Parish exceeded its duty by responding into the State of Mississippi, surrounding Parishes, and the City of New Orleans. The Parish procured large amounts of supplies, out of their own operating budget, without knowing whether they would be reimbursed, and ultimately became a critical component in the flow of goods to help the devastated region. As this aid was not forthcoming from other sources, Livingston Parish personnel saved many lives during this disaster.
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