It’s hard to believe, but this year we mark the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
The deadly storm made landfall in August of 2005, forever changing our lives and the landscape of the city and state.
For the next 12 months, WDSU will feature stories on the people who played key roles before, during and after the storm.
The project is called “Faces of Katrina.”
Part 1: The Cop
With New Orleans almost entirely underwater following catastrophic levee breaks at three separate locations, it was chaos in the city.
People left stranded, widespread looting, and even rampant violence were reported.
For police, it was all hands on deck, working in unimaginable circumstances.
“My name is Eddie Compass, and I was chief of police during Hurricane Katrina,” said Compass.
Compass was New Orleans’ top cop in 2005 and was thrust into the spotlight as the storm made landfall.
“We had to think on our feet, everything was happening so quickly,” said Compass.
We caught up with the now 66-year-old near his home in the Warehouse District.
“Does it seem like it’s been 20 years?” asked WDSU’s Travers Mackel.
“Not really, it’s like I blinked, and 20 years has passed,” said Compass.
After Katrina hit, police precincts flooded, officers abandoned their jobs, and some even died.
“No police chief — arguably in any major American city — had ever had to deal with what you had to deal with in 2005?” asked Mackel.
“There was no blueprint, no blueprint — I had to go where no one had ever gone before … and I knew one thing: human life was paramount,” said Compass.
And that showed.
Officers, including Compass, stepped up.
Many using their own boats, doing water rescues on city streets.
But it was hard. Many cops lost everything; some were forced to patrol in personal vehicles wearing just blue jeans and T-shirts.
And Compass didn’t hold back, updating the media constantly with real-time info, which turned out to be a problem.
“I wanted to be transparent with everything, I didn’t want to hide anything, and I think I gave out too much information too quickly before we were able to verify things, but it’s a catch-22 — had I not given out too much information and these things turned out to be true, people would have said I was trying to cover things up,” said Compass.
And it also didn’t take long for Compass to butt heads with the man who appointed him as superintendent in 2002: then-mayor Ray Nagin.
Compass was forced out — asked to resign by Nagin in late September 2005 — less than one month after the storm hit.
Giving up his dream job while the city was still evacuated.
“Do you think you were a scapegoat in any way for things that went wrong politically?” asked Mackel.
“Oh, very much so, very much so — but that’s the nature of politics. But I wasn’t a politician; I was a police officer. I came up through the ranks, I was one of very few chiefs that came up through every single rank, no politics. I paid my dues, I wasn’t about politics — I was about the police department, and me and the mayor had a lot of conflicts, I would say because I worked for him to do things a certain way, I would say, ‘Sir, I work for you but I also work for the city of New Orleans, and I am not going to compromise my integrity and we bumped heads a lot,'” said Compass.
Since the storm, compass started collecting his retirement.
He still does private security and works details as a reserve constable.
He has five grown kids and a new wife — and also started a second career: mentoring and training young athletes.
That includes former LSU and NFL star — Leonard Fornette.
“I’m a blessed man,” said Compass.
One who still calls New Orleans home.
A figure who loomed large when the city dealt with the most destructive hurricane to ever hit the state.
“How do you think history remembers Eddie Compass?” asked Mackel.
“I want them to remember me for being compassionate about my city. I want them to remember me for having integrity and honesty. I want them to remember me for owning up to the mistakes that I did make. I want to be remembered for not holding a grudge or vendetta for those that destroyed my career. I forgave them — I have gone on with my life,” said Compass.
A life he continues to live with a smile on his face each day.
READ MORE:Faces of Katrina: Former NOPD superintendent Eddie Compass reflects on the storm 20 years later
