South County Police Share Firsthand Account of Joplin

When a tornado ripped through Joplin, MO May 22, more than 130 were killed and 8,000 buildings were destroyed. Since the destruction, relief efforts have been pouring into the city.

Three officers from the South County Precinct have been in Joplin since Thursday, helping the exhausted and overwhelmed Joplin police.

"The first night and day on Thursday, we all were in disbelief cause of what we saw there,” said Sgt. Dave Ryan with the South County Precinct. “People who have lost everything came up to us thanking us for being there. It brought tears to almost every one of these guys' eyes."

Ryan said the 26 County police officers are working 18-hour shifts, 13 on day and 13 at night.

When officers first arrived, Ryan said they were on patrol at Main and 20th Street because the traffic coming in and out of the city was a disaster.

“We came in and took over and solved the traffic problem,” he said. “You show up and find with everyone, everything has just been torn from them. Volunteers help them move things, but everything’s gone from a 2-mile-by-6-mile wide stretch.”

With the local high school, hospital, Walmart and Home Depot being damaged or completely destroyed, the city will have to start over.

“It’s not blown down, its completely demolished,” Ryan said. “They’re still searching apartment complexes, it’s going to take years to rebuild.”

Aside from patrol, officers searched homes and buildings within a city block.

“A woman came up to us and said her daughter was missing, we asked her ‘Where would you like us to look?’ And she just started crying,” Ryan said.

Even with the devastation in the city, police still need to control crime. Ryan said looters were common among the rubble, often stealing car tires. There’s a mandatory 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, but still arrests have been made.

“It’s just sad, these peoples’ lives are on display,” Ryan said.

However, with 82 agencies helping in the city, Ryan said the volunteer efforts were extraordinary.

“No one is going to go hungry in the City of Joplin,” Ryan said. Tyson is continuously cooking chicken, and every remaining restaurant is staying open for the volunteers and victims. “You go to every corner and there’s people trying to help.”

Ryan described a scene of complete disorder. More than 245 businesses have been destroyed. The 200-mile an hour winds striped bark off trees and they’ve found dump trucks in the living rooms of homes.

“It’s strange,” Ryan said. “The roof of a house will be ripped off, but the knick-knack shelf or spice rack hasn’t been disturbed.”

While the officers are scheduled to come home this Thursday, another crew may be going down if the city needs additional help.

“The people that are here, it does make a difference, no one is here for glory,” Ryan said. “(I went) because they needed people to go. We had tons of volunteers, we’re just doing what needs to get done.”

I’ve worked tornadoes, ice storms and this is worse than any disaster I’ve ever seen.”