Craig Fritz

Journalism: Projects: N.M. Sheriffs in New Orleans

Less than a week after Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, a contingent of sheriffs deputies and firefighters from Bernalillo County, N.M. arrived in New Orleans to assist in law enforcement and rescue operations. Albuquerque Tribune writer Ollie Reed and I reported, in daily installments, about their time there. 

  • Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department deputies take an oath of office as they are deputized at a staging area in Gonzales, La. on Sept. 4. The group received an assignment to patrol a New Orleans neighborhood of which half was flooded.
  • Paramedic Brian Rose points out the possibility of falling glass from the Hilton Hotel in downtown New Orleans while Deputy Josh Compos looks at a police car that is stripped of its wheels and buried by debris. The group, not knowing what to expect, entered the city with their weapons at the ready on Sept. 4.
  • A man who identified himself as Wes wades through flood waters near Canal Street in New Orleans. He declined a lift by members of the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department insisting that he needed to check on his friends' pets.
  • After 45 minutes of negotiations, 10 people of the extended Robinson family agree to leave their home in New Orleans. Although no water had come into their living area, street level was at least 5 feet under water. Deputy Nate Lerner, proceeds to inquire about the health of a mother's 4-month-old baby who appeared to be faring well.
  • After being evacuated from a home in New Orleans, members of the Robinson family catch supplies from Deputy Nate Lerner. The family initially refused to leave its flooded home, but after 45 minutes of negotiation, they agreed if all of them could leave together and go to the airport. The group included an 80-year-old amputee in a wheelchair, his daughter, a 4-month-old baby, two small boys and other adults.
  • Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department Deputy Anthony Medrano showers at a National Guard decontamination site in New Orleans after being drenched with contaminated flood water while riding in an air boat. Medrano was assisting with the search efforts near Canal Street north of I-10 on Sept. 8.
  • Deputy Nate Lerner, right, tries to persuade Deputy Theresa Sabaugh, who ignores him, to give up a set of Marfi Gras beads given to her by a man she rescued from a flooded home in the city.
  • Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Paul Jacobs scans building after building of the besieged B.W. Cooper housing project buildings near downtown New Orleans from an air boat. He was searching for people to take out of the flooded area on Sept. 5. His boat floats on a mixture of water, gas, oil, sewage and mud.
  • Mr. McMillen stares tentatively at would-be rescuers aboard a boat who are trying to talk him into leaving his apartment in the flooded B.W. Cooper housing project near downtown New Orleans. McMillen was unaware of what year it was and asserted that {quote}Ford{quote} was the current president. He, along with three others, decided to be evacuated.
  • Deputy Robby Ray sits exhausted, having just poured water over his head to cool off, on an I-10 exit ramp used for launching boats into the New Orleans floodwaters. The team of county deputies and firefighters who provided search and rescue and law enforcement, joked that they are desert people and were working on the water. The group headed home the next day on Sept. 11, 2005.
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