Shortly after Hurricane Isaac hit the Louisiana coast, the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office sprang into action, gathering a team of deputies to send to Plaquemines Parish — one of the areas most affected by Isaac, with more than 12 feet of floodwater. (Special to the American Press)
Shortly after Hurricane Isaac hit the Louisiana coast, the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office sprang into action, gathering a team of deputies to send to Plaquemines Parish — one of the areas most affected by Isaac, with more than 12 feet of floodwater. (Special to the American Press)
Calcasieu deputies talk about helping out in Plaquemines Parish
Last Modified: Sunday, September 09, 2012 8:08 PM
By Ashley Withers / American Press
Shortly after Hurricane Isaac hit the Louisiana coast, the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office sprang into action, gathering a team of deputies to send to Plaquemines Parish — one of the areas most affected by Isaac, with more than 12 feet of floodwater.
The Sheriff’s Office sent 21 patrolmen, three K-9 units, three SWAT team members, an incident commander, a sergeant and an EMT to provide aid. The team helped patrol the parish, provided traffic control and created a police presence to help prevent looting.
Lt. Robert Manuel led the mission — an assignment that particularly hit home for him and his team.
“The Plaquemines Parish deputies were out there working knowing that their houses have been destroyed, knowing that they have nothing. We know how that is after Rita,” Manuel said.
“And it’s not just them. It’s their families — their mothers, their sisters, their brothers,” Sgt. Dennis Courtney added.
“It’s hard to go on and perform your duties when you have all of that looming behind you,” Manuel said.
“That’s why we needed to be down there. They were able to take some time to deal with those important things, knowing that we could pick up the slack for them.”
Once they arrived in Plaquemines, Calcasieu deputies split into two 12-hour shifts and created a home base in a classroom at a Chevron plant. They arrived at 5 p.m. and by 6 p.m. the first shift had begun.
“We moved the tables and chairs and put our cots on the floor and we were good to go,” Manuel said.
The team was “self-contained,” meaning they did not need to use resources from Plaquemines Parish to operate.
“Handling all these situations and going through and assisting other agencies with Katrina and dealing with Rita, we’ve just kind of learned to be self-contained. When we go down somewhere, we have everything that we need to be able to function,” Manuel said.
“We have portable showers. We brought our own fuel, cots, amenities. Everything that you could think of to live without anybody’s assistance. When you go down there to help them, you don’t want to be a burden on them. You want to be able to have as much as you can to be able to take care of yourself.”
Most residents of Plaquemines did not evacuate and were unprepared for the storm, but the Calcasieu team had an excess of supplies and was able to hand them out to stranded residents, Courtney said.
“Katrina did not hit them hard like this. This was a lot worse than Katrina for them and because of that they thought, ‘Eh, this is not going to be anything’ and they got caught,” Courtney said.
The team felt very appreciated by the residents of Plaquemines Parish.
“The public’s reception of us down there was more than positive. They loved us being down there. Every chance they got they told us thank you. It was a very positive reception,” said Cpl. Landry Willis.
“They were very, very thankful. Even the people that we stopped and did investigations on were very appreciative of us being there,” Courtney added.
The team made about 10 arrests — for looting, drug possession and traffic violations, Manuel said.
The deputies worked around the clock in Plaquemines for five days. Though it was hot and exhausting, they said they enjoyed the work and were glad to do it.
“I felt it was an honor to be chosen to go out there to do this. The sheriff could have picked any other guys, but he chose us. It was an honor to go out there and show this other parish what we have and our capabilities for something like this,” Detective Chris Wilrye said.
“And not just that,” Manuel added. “If we’re ever in need, they will be the first ones on the train to come over here and help us out.”
Posted By: Mr. And Mrs. J. C. Wilkerson On: 9/8/2012
Title: Proud of our Sherrif and these fine deputies.
This is such a positive story. One communities law enforcement helping another community in time of need. I commend Sheriif Tony Mancuso and the team he chose. When I look at the picture I see leadership. When I read words from the LT. Placed in charged, I read leadership. Which means we have a Sheriff that exudes leadership and excellent training. This group is a excellent asset to our Sheriff, sherrifs department and to our community.
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