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Troopers, Soldiers, Citizens; One Mission, One Goal

Courtesy Photo | From day one of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, Louisiana State Police SWAT Team has...... read more read more

09.15.2005

Courtesy Story

DVIDS Hub

Story and photos by Spc. Tanya Van Buskirk
Third U.S. Army Public Affairs

In the days leading up to Hurricane Katrina's arrival into the town of New Orleans, city and state officials thought they were ready to tackle whatever she brought. Emergency Operations Centers were set up, the National Guard was on alert and the Louisiana State Police Special Weapons And Tactics Team was called in to simply facilitate the evacuation of the city.

Simple is one word that the SWAT team can never say describes the actual mission over the last 14 days, and the tragedy that has hit this internationally recognized city. Katrina is gone, but her mark will forever leave an impression on the entire country, especially on those who were here to fight against her and all the problems she brought with her and left behind for the proud citizens of New Orleans.

"Our original job changed because people were not leaving New Orleans," said Trooper Doug Pierrelee, native of Shreveport, La. "We came the day after the storm hit and people were running around like crazy."

Nearly 30,000 people were unable to leave the city for a variety of reasons ,and troopers were tasked to respond to incidents of looting, shootings and other criminal activity resulting from the dire situation Katrina left the citizens of this city to contend with.

"We came in and met with the vice squad and they basically told us that NOPD was there in certain places but there was no communication between them and they had a hard time being able to communicate between them to know what was going on around the streets," said Trooper Darrell D. Levergne, native of Morgan City, La.

The only way the original law enforcers were able to communicate was through paper notes passed around from squad to squad, said Pierrelee. No cell phones, no land lines. In all the scenarios these troopers trained for, there was never one that removed the lines of communication.

"I've been in the military, I've never been in combat and when the media is saying that people are running around with guns shooting at police officers and there are no jails to house them in once they are apprehended, all we could do was find the people that were hurting other people and hold on to them," said Levergne.

One of the biggest problems the troopers noticed was the role alcohol played in the behavior of the New Orleans citizens. People were looting alcohol and drinking it on the streets.

"There is a lot of alcohol in New Orleans and people were pushing large containers of alcohol around the streets, just having a big party while other people were suffering. That was very unexpected. People were doing things they would not normally do because they were intoxicated," said Pierrelee.

The majority of the thousands of people trapped on the streets without food, water or shelter were simply trying to survive. When troopers were given just enough water and food to sustain themselves, they say it was difficult to go into an area where people need so much and not give them everything you have.

" When someone brings a baby bottle and a baby and wants water you give them all of the water you have. You may not know if you are going to make it or not, but that's the kind of job we have. We don't put ourselves first," said Pierrelee.

The troopers remember the moment they saw the National Guard pull into the city with dump trucks full of water and MREs, and what a relief it was to know that with that simple need met all other tasks were made much easier to achieve.

"We did not know what the National Guard's mission was, but when they arrived and reassured us that food and water would no longer be a concern, we were able to focus on other issues that were affecting safety and survival," said Levergne.

The National Guard brought in air support and helped the troopers get to places snipers were said to be firing from, and also react to information passed to them in regards to other crimes being committed around the city.

With all the police on the ground, the air support in the sky, the patrols in the water and the citizens who helped one another through this surreal ordeal, order has slowly but surely come to the city of New Orleans and the cleanup and restoration of a great and proud city has begun.

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