September 16, 2005

East Lansing.  After seven days of search and rescue missions and 11 days away from home, the last members of the Michigan Law Enforcement Contingent will return from Louisiana this evening.  The 98-member contingent, which included 95 officers, two medics and one communication specialist, will have many stories to tell, lots of experiences to remember and some scenes to try to forget.

The officers were proud to be part of the nation’s largest relief effort and describe their overall mission as a success.

“The cohesion of this team is a true testament to the quality of law enforcement officers in Michigan and their ability to work together to attain a common goal,” stated Lieutenant Harold Love, member of the Michigan Contingent and assistant post commander of the MSP Metro North Post.  “During the mission, members rescued and evacuated 48 persons, recovered two bodies and made contact with dozens of residents who were in the process of self evacuation.  They also encountered dozens of abandoned dogs and cats, for which they provided food and water and reported to animal control for pick up.”  

With the massive amount of emergency support the State of Louisiana received, it was imperative every assisting contingent carry out its assigned mission to maximize resources and personnel.  The Michigan Contingent was mainly tasked with search and rescue.  However, for two days the MSP Emergency Support Team, the Grand Rapids Police Department Special Response Team and the Life EMS Special Response Team from Grand Rapids, provided armed assistance to the United States Army, 82^nd Airborne during night time surveillance and policing missions in troubled areas of New Orleans.  MSP troopers also partnered with Baton Rouge police officers for two days to help in responding to dispatched calls in the city.  Despite this, many officers still felt underutilized and wish they could have done more to assist.

“The citizens of the State of Louisiana and emergency workers from across the nation continually praised the Michigan officers for their selfless commitment to the relief effort and willingness to travel more than 1,100 miles to help out this cause,” stated Love.  “Right now, the officers are looking forward to being home with their families and resuming their regular duties as peace keepers and public servants.”  

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.

Officers in the Michigan contingent were 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 Ambulance of Grand Rapids and a gasoline tanker from Mooney Oil Company of Flint.