A former Department of Public Safety radio technician has claimed that DPS Director of Information Technology Jeya Selvaratnam ordered that an emergency radio transmitter not be placed into operation in the hours following Hurricane Katrina’s landfall in New Orleans despite the loss of normal radio communications by State Police.
Rusty Whittington, who subsequently resigned following Selvaratnam’s order, now works in the private sector. He is not related to W.R. “Rut” Whittington, who served as State Police Superintendent from 1996 to 2000.
He said Louisiana State Police (LSP) communications were knocked out by Katrina and he was ordered to transport a 100-foot portable tower designed specifically for such emergencies into the New Orleans area so that there might be communications in the immediate vicinity of Troop B.
He said the transmitter had a maximum range of “perhaps 12 miles, probably better at 10 miles,” which is why he erected the tower on the Clearview Boulevard overpass over I-10. “It was in close proximity to Troop B and would have given us some communication capability at a time when it was desperately needed,” he said.
He said the equipment is manufactured in Oklahoma for just such events. He said the system cost about $125,000. “It was designed to keep working in conditions like Katrina. He said that he was dispatched to New Orleans “within 24 hours” of Katrina’s devastation of New Orleans.
“I was the fourth person in line to get the word to set the system up,” he said. “First, the word came down from the governor (Gov. Kathleen Blanco), then to (State Police Superintendent Terry) Landry, then to Jeya (Selvaratnam) and then me. I was the one who rolled with it.”
Selvaratnam was in charge of the State Police radio and communications section at the time, Whittington said.
“I got the tower and the transmitter set up and then I was told not to flip the switch,” he said. “This was within 24 hours of the storm when people’s lives were at stake. They (State Police administrators) knew the main system was down.”
Whittington said he believes the reason Selvaratnam gave the order to not power up the system was because the number one priority of DPS at the time, rather than saving lives, was to make DPS appear helpless so that the department could apply for funds from the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) to upgrade the entire DPS communications system.
“The (portable) system sat there for three days while State Police were unable to get communications moved to Bridge City.”
He said Selvaratnam was a difficult person with whom to work. “Jeya told me on one occasion that the way to control people was to divide and conquer,” he said.
He said DPS did eventually receive FEMA money but that it would be difficult to account for how it was spent. “They (DPS) replaced equipment and upgraded other equipment, but tracking how the money was actually spent would be next to impossible,” he said.
He said he became disgusted with the manner in which Selvaratnam handled the emergency communication system incident and resigned from DPS shortly afterward to enter the private sector.
He said he could only speculate as to whether or not Selvaratnam received orders not to put the emergency system into service from higher up the LSP chain of command.
Louisiana Voice 
Sounds like things are rotten from within.
Rotten to the core and getting more rotten each day! The FBI should investigate Jeya and see who is giving him his orders!! Could it be someone that is now in charge? Follow the money it may be closer than one thinks.
Its possible that his motives are not his own, but anyone who has worked for or worked with Jeya knows how egotistical he is. DPS’ radio maintenance is the only thing he cares about. Getting them more funding, for his own personal gain and satisfaction, is not out of the realm of possibilities. Why are glorified electronic technicians being paid as technical support specialists (with a provision for mid tier pay scale)? Jeya. He is also the reason DPS throws millions at Motorola each year for support on a dying platform.
I’m sure a lot of people would like to see an investigation into the contracts between Motorola and IBM in relation to DPS.
Dying system? You obviously weren’t one of those glorified electronics technicians or you would know the LWIN system is the biggest statewide system in the country built on the industry standard P25 specs. Systems just like it are being put in and built out as we speak around the country. Say what you will about the (mis)management of the system, but it’s the envy of the nation.
Yep, and it also sounds as if ex-state employees are beginning to reveal the true nature of exactly how this state is run!
Ex-state employees being the operative word.
There are hundreds of current state workers that could provide much more evidence but they are scared for their jobs.
And rightly so.
I’m a prime example of what happens when you speak out against a wrong… denied due process and sadly, the good ole boys continue to get away with it in a consequence free environment.
“Patience is a virtue, and good things come to those who wait”! Karma on the other hand is a Bitch!
Someone doesn’t understand FEMA grants based on the last section. The funding is clearly trackable and accountable.
A little off story, but check out the Advocate Saturday, July 27, 2013, page A-1 where DWF is paying $8,750 per month to rent a cottage in Venice, LA where WLF is paying all this money hoping to recover monies (from BP) for testing seafood. Suppose BP doesn’t cover these expenses? One should ask themselves, would the hundreds of fishermen that charter or catch seafood for a living continue to fish, shrimp, crab, etc., if what they caught were not good or edible? We should not invest over a quarter million dollars for this cottage. Makes one wonder how many regular state employees are tracking this information. Maybe none. Could the people in charge that are monitoring this situation be friends, family, neighbors or whoever, that are staying at this $8,750 cottage for free? Thanks to reporter Marsha Shuler for disclosing this waste. Ms. Shuler and Tom should get awards for their reporting, hopefully they can continue to follow the money, it just gets deeper and more dirtier each day.