BP executive calls end to Louisiana’s litigious climate
November 4, 2015
Q&A Grant Ordoyne
November 4, 2015
Traumatic events have a way of gripping those directly affected and never letting go. Scarred by the horrific devastation, the rush of water engulfing streets … what most witnesses see often stays with them, impacting them for a lifetime.
Deputy Michael Davenport lives and works in Oklahoma, a place some 700 miles away from the all-too-familiar scenes played out during south Louisiana’s hurricane season. But as a reserve deputy sheriff for the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office, he recognized a need as soon as he heard of the devastation riddling much of the central and southern parts of the state and sought to be part of the recovery efforts following Hurricane Katrina.
On Sept. 17, 2005, Davenport and a group of Oklahoma law enforcement entered St. Bernard Parish intending to establish control amid the growing chaos following Katrina, which hit the state days earlier.
Within the first few days of arriving, the Oklahoma officers worked to halt looters gutting many of the damaged businesses, managed checkpoints and ran search and rescue teams. Then, unexpectedly, the officers were relocated further south to Terrebonne Parish to provide assistance to residents turned victims of Hurricane Rita, which made landfall in the wee hours of Sept. 24, 2005, as a Category 3 storm.
What transpired in those final days of the trip deep in the heart of the Bayou Region made an indelible mark on Davenport’s heart. In the 10 years since the trip, he has never forgotten what he witnessed and more importantly, the little girl that served as a beacon of hope in difficult circumstances.
In the days spent facilitating rescues in Dulac, Davenport encountered the Verret family, stranded in the wake of the storm and without food or water. The family was rescued by boat and a photo snapped during the event of the deputy holding a then- 5-year-old Hannah Verret stands as a lasting reminder of an unspoken bond between Samaritan and survivor. Davenport reunited with Hannah, now a 15-year-old student at Ellender Memorial High School, on Oct. 20 during a ceremony held at the school.
Plans to reunite the two came months earlier, after the deputy reached out to the Terrebonne Parish School District, trying to locate the little girl smiling back at him daily from a frame in his office.
Armed with nothing more than her first name, her age at the time of rescue and a photo, the district tracked Hannah down at Ellender, the high school primarily serving children from the Dulac area.
“We all saw some not so nice things, but this was a pleasant thing,” Davenport said, adding that being able to reconnect with Hannah and her entire family made the trip incredibly special. In addition to the time spent with the Verrets, Davenport was also presented with a commemorative reunion invitation, a photo from the rescue and a certificate of heroism from the school district.
Hannah and her father, Glen, agreed it was exciting that Davenport and his wife, Maria, reached out and wanted to reconnect.
“It’s always a pleasure to recognize the heroes that touch all of our lives,” District 7 School Board Member Roger Dale Dehart said during the ceremony. “Mr. Davenport, you may not accept the title, but you are. Our community … they never forget whenever people do things for them.” •
