9/11 & Hurricane Katrina: A Comparison of Police Actions

"When the flooding started in New Orleans the response was delayed. There was no one available to help the victims of Katrina when the hurricane hit New Orleans. Just minutes after the first plane hit the north tower of the World Trade Center, New York firefighters [and police officers] hurried to the scene. Where was the help when New Orleans was flooding? Who was there to help the citizens from drowning?"- Saharra White, Associated Content

A New Orleans police officer amongst the chaos of the Superdome on September 1, 2005. http://outhouserag.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/522.jpg

Two female NYPD officers--September 11, 2001.

http://www.fema.gov/kids/images/911heroes/nypd_women.jpg

Hurricane Katrina and the September 11 terrorist attacks. The former, a natural disaster that was predicted and known of, and the latter an attack on our nation that no one saw coming. Both affected major American cities and each had over 1,000 fatalities. So why were the responses so different? Granted, these are very different types of events, yet both required immediate emergency assistance to save the lives of American citizens. Both affected our nation deeply and changed the history of their respective cities in a huge way.

An analysis performed by a consulting firm, McKinsey & Co., in 2002, highlighted the highs and lows of the response of the NYPD following the 9/11 attacks in New York City. Many of the conclusions are eerily similar to the analyses of the NOPD following Hurricane Katrina four years later. Perhaps the NOPD would have been well served to read this analysis and apply it to their own force before their questionable attempt at relief following the storm.

Highlights of the analysis (Blue)

Personal Commentary and Comparisons to Katrina (Red)

• "The New York Police Department's response to the Sept. 11 attack was effective in many areas but suffered from lapses in leadership and coordination and a lack of proper planning and training."
• This same statement, perhaps minus the "effective in many areas", could be said for the NOPD in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The NOPD had a major deficiency in leadership from Ray Nagin, the police chief, local and federal government, and FEMA. There was no game plan set forth before the storm, and as leaders scrambled to come up with one AFTER the storm hit, their delayed response caused the death of many New Orleans citizens. New Orleans police, although allegedly trained in natural disaster response, had a serious lack of planning and obviously not enough training to properly handle the chaotic conditions following the storm.
• "Many officers did not know who was in charge or whom they should report to after the attack. It also said that some officers in the field acted without direction from field commanders."
• Similarly, most NOPD officers were unaware of who to report to, or if they did, there little to no communication amongst the ranks. While many NYPD officers acted on their own judgement in a heroic fashion, rushing into burning buildings to save civilians, some NOPD officers took this severe lack of communication to mean that they had the ability to abuse their power to their liking. Many NOPD officers looted stores and homes, and some even took it a step further and committed acts as serious as murder, as in the Danziger Bridge shootings and the Henry Glover case.
• "The report, however, is measured in its findings, noting that no one could have anticipated Sept. 11 and that the department performed many tasks admirably. While leadership lapses, ineffective planning and a lack of coordination at the scene were among the most serious flaws, they did not affect what many considered to be the department's primary goal that day: the effective evacuation of the World Trade Center, saving thousands of lives."
• Here is an important distinction: THE OFFICERS OF THE NYPD HAD NO WARNING OF THE 9/11 ATTACKS. The NOPD officers were all clearly forewarned of the impending disaster, yet the NYPD were still able to handle their city's disaster in a much better manner. The main difference is that the NYPD officers did not let the chaotic conditions, lack of leadership, minimal communication, and poor planning distract them from their major goal: to protect and rescue the citizens of New York City. Where they were able to overcome these setbacks, many NOPD officers faltered. They allowed the conditions and poor planning to overcome what should have been their major goal: to protect and rescue the citizens of New Orleans.
• ''Every day police officers are faced with unimaginable situations, and every day they adapt and survive and do their jobs."- Senior Police Official, NYPD
• The NOPD were too faced with a horrific and unimaginable situation, but they were unable to properly adapt. There were some officers who did act heroically, and they should be thanked and appreciated to the fullest. But many more also forgot that it was THEIR JOB to serve and protect.
• "Despite what it called the perceived lack of a strong commander and confusion among some top officials, the report found overall that the department acted effectively in 10 of what it described as the 16 critical tasks, including the rescue of civilians, the evacuation of Lower Manhattan, traffic management, and the protection of sensitive locations around the city."
• Both NYPD officers and NOPD officers faced a lack of leadership and extremely confusing and chaotic environments, yet as evidenced by this independent analysis, the officers of the NYPD were able to overcome this in most areas. NOPD officers took advantage of this chaos to permeate the already damaged city with their corruption.

So, this analysis can be applied to the main issue: Should the choices that police officers make during a catastrophe be held to a different standard than those made in ideal conditions?

The NYPD proved that while a catastrophic event is always extremely difficult for disaster response officials, it is possible to overcome the chaotic conditions, fatigue, fear, uncertainty, lack of leadership, and poor planning, and show what it means to truly be heroes. They took the extremely abrupt and terrifying situation of 9/11 and performed with dignity and determination. They were able to unite the nation and illustrate a group of true American heroes. The NOPD had this same chance with Hurricane Katrina, yet they faltered. The storied corruption buried in the force was exposed, and instead of unifying Americans, they proved to them why Louisiana is one of the most corrupt states in our nation. In conclusion, the choices made by NOPD officers after Katrina should have consequences and should not simply be shrugged off as an effect of the storm. As citizens of New Orleans, we must stand up for transparency amongst our police officers. Because if there is another disaster even half as disastrous as Hurricane Katrina, we deserve the same help and determination as the citizens of New York City received from their police force after the September 11 terrorist attacks.