FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 6, 2005

East Lansing.  The 92 law enforcement officers who left Michigan on Monday have reached their destination in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and were sworn in this afternoon as Louisiana State troopers. 

Starting this evening each will be paired with a Louisiana State trooper to begin patrolling some of the hardest hit parts of Louisiana.  Officers will be entering these areas in teams, searching building to building for survivors and deceased persons.

Law enforcement resources from Michigan were requested by the State of Louisiana through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) on Saturday, Sept. 3.  The contingent of Michigan law enforcement officers left Lansing on Monday morning for a minimum 14-day deployment.  The convoy included a six-member Emergency Support Team with full equipment, a mobile command vehicle with communications capability and a National Guard transport vehicle with enough supplies to sustain the officers for four days.

Agencies sending officers include: Barry County Sheriff’s Department, Berkley Police Department,  Burton Police Department, Charlevoix County Sheriff’s Department, Cheboygan County Sheriff’s Department, Dearborn Police Department, Emmet County Sheriff’s Department, Grand Rapids Police Department, Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, Jackson Police Department, Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, Lansing Police Department, Leelanau County Sheriff’s Department, Life EMS Medic, Mackinaw City Police Department, Meridian Township Police Department, Michigan State Police, Redford Township Police Department, Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Police Department, Southgate Police Department, Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Department and West Bloomfield Township Police Department.

Many agencies statewide have offered up their services for future deployments as well.