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Clad in uniform blues and camo greens, more than 60 officers from no less than four law enforcement agencies paid close attention to a presentation at the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s rifle range Thursday morning.
They knew that within the hour, just after the sun came up, they would be taking people – by force if needed – from their beds to jail cells, as part of a sweep operation months in the making.
Houma Police Chief Dana Coleman joined other leaders at the rifle range podium and shared some intelligence information. After arrest made in recent days addressing scattered street violence, threats appeared on social media that included photos of police officers.
“When these search warrants are being executed, those of you who have the perimeters, please watch the outside perimeter, to secure those officers that are executing those search warrants inside,” Coleman said.
The chief then made a shift, from the strategic to the spiritual.
When his officers embark on operations like this, he said, they usually start with a prayer. He asked the officers to rise and bow their heads. Coleman and the other supervisors at the podium joined hands, Maj. Terry Daigre, Lt. Corey Duplantis of Coleman’s own Special Operations Division among them.
The prayer, Coleman said, was not only for law enforcement but “for those that we are going to execute these search warrants on as well.”
CLICK HERE TO SEE OFFICERS AT PRAYER
Punctuating each phrase with the invocation “dear God,” Coleman asked for blessings on all present, and that the almighty himself be “a part of this mission as we carry out your will to rid our communities of issues that plague them.”
He asked that the decisions of officers be guided from above, as well as the decisions of those they would seek.
There was a hearty and reverent “amen,” followed by a little more administrative housekeeping.
The Thursday mission, dubbed “Operation Seize Their Shadow” – a play of words on an old legend because the raids were being carried out on Groundhog Day – was developed in response to a wave of shootings accompanied by brazen drug dealing on the streets of the Village East Subdivision and Mechanicville in east Houma.
Individuals with outstanding warrants for offenses that include drug distribution and illegal weapons possession, developed over months of observation and contact with confidential informants.
HPD and TPSO officers were joined by state troopers, DEA agents and Thibodaux police officers; traffic was stopped at intersections across Houma to accommodate a lengthy caravan that included military-style assault vehicles, their blue flashing lights eerily reflected in a dense dawn fog.
The action began with a startling overture, from a sound bomb or “flashbang” device, detonated upon entry by officers of a ranch-style home on Baker Drive. There and on Truman Street in Mechanicville, officers were searching for guns and drugs. Arrests were made based on warrants for specific individuals.
Authorities said the search warrants included “no knock” provisions, allowing officers to use the element of surprise in order to keep greater control from the outset and prevent destruction of evidence.
Altogether, 31 suspects were arrested, with 22 additional people sought still at large, at locations throughout east Houma. Drugs and guns were seized at the locations where search warrants were executed.
The Louisiana Department of Probation and Parole, the Department of Homeland Security, as well as Customs and Border Protection assisted. Air support was supplied by the Louisiana State Police.
The group prayer before the turnout was the second time Maj. Daigre of the Sheriff’s Office found himself seeking spiritual guidance that morning.
As he drove along fog-shrouded highways to the rifle range Daigre recited his special prayer to Michael, Patron Saint of law enforcement officers in his Roman Catholic faith.
“Prayer is very important to me,” said Daigre, who welcomed participation in the group prayer led by Coleman.
“I know that it is not for everyone, but that group prayer, praying for us and our safety, to keep out minds right and keep us focused and to make all the right decisions, and praying for the exact same things for the people we are going after, that their minds are right and that they make right decisions that’s important.”
Although not a clergyman, Chief Coleman said that leading a prayer such as the one at the rifle range comes as second nature.
“I was raised in the church all my life,” Coleman said.
By day’s end, all was reported to have gone smoothly. No injuries were reported to officers or arrestees, providing an indication that Coleman’s prayer was answered. When asked why it is important to pray for the people who might actually be arrested that day, Coleman gave a succinct answer.
“I believe we should pray for both entities in our community,” he said. “Those we serve and protect as well as those men and women in law enforcement who protect and serve.”
