Hurricane Katrina and the New Orleans Police Department
On August 29, 2005, New Orleans experienced substantial destruction in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, which resulted in the breach of a levy and subsequent massive flooding throughout 80 percent of the city. While a mandatory evacuation resulted in most residents leaving the city, between 50,000 and 100,000 residents were left behind to largely fend for themselves. Massive numbers of police officers were needed for humanitarian and rescue efforts and to combat lawlessness in the streets following the hurricane. However, NOPD executives quickly realized that they did not have the number of officers available for service that they had anticipated. Initially, it was unclear whether missing officers were attending to family problems, were simply unable to report for duty due to being stranded, or were absent without leave. Following the initiation of rescue efforts, Chief Compass estimated that 500 officers, or 36 percent of the department, had deserted. News reports also began to show videos of police officers looting department stores for nonessential items, such as electronics and jewelry. The latest police department statistics show that problems associated with desertion were not as problematic as initially believed. However, they do suggest that police misconduct immediately following Hurricane Katrina will have a devastating impact on the New Orleans police department for some time to come. In the end,
∙ 66 officers were fired for desertion.
∙ 11 officers were fired for neglecting their duties.
∙ 41 officers resigned because of police misconduct.
∙ An undisclosed number were suspended without pay for police misconduct. Altogether, it is estimated that NOPD lost about 7 percent of its officers after investigations of police misconduct were completed.