Contact: Shanon Akans, MSP, 517-336-6364

September 14, 2005

East Lansing .  After serving for the past week in Louisiana, the Michigan contingent of law enforcement officers is getting ready to return home later this week.  They will begin the return trip at the end of the day tomorrow.

There are no plans at this time to send a second wave of officers down south, as requests for law enforcement assistance by the states of Louisiana and Mississippi have been suspended.  Future requests for assistance will be evaluated as they are received.

Over the past few days as flood waters have receded in the city of New Orleans, the Michigan officers have continued day to day search and rescue operations in assigned areas.  They work in groups to complete their missions, which are given out daily by the Louisiana State Police (LSP) command.  Members of the Michigan contingent have encountered everything from extremely foul odors and decaying bodies to seemingly healthy people sitting on their front porches.

One squad within the group was tasked with providing cover to a military division doing search and rescue in troubled areas of New Orleans.  Although there have been reports of gunfire in the area, no shots have been fired at the search and rescue team since the Michigan officers have been with the detail.

There have been no illnesses or other medical conditions within the group, although three minor injuries were reported.  Two of the injuries did not require medical treatment, and the other required only minimal bandaging. 

Officers report the residents of New Orleans and Baton Rouge continue to display their southern hospitality by dropping off baked goods and snacks at the Michigan command post at the LSP headquarters. 

Officers in the Michigan contingent are from the 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, 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.

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 September 5. 

The convoy included a six-member Emergency Support Team with full equipment, a mobile command vehicle with communications capability, a National Guard transport vehicle with enough supplies to sustain the officers for four days, a tactical medical unit from Life EMS Medic of Grand Rapids and a gasoline tanker from Mooney Oil Company of Flint.