Disaster, Survival & First Responders

2005. Geraldo Rivera for Fox News Hannity & Colmes reporting from New Orleans, only 6 days after Hurricane Katrina struck. This powerful segment from inside a convention center where people who lost their homes have been transported. Later in the clip we hear briefly from Shepherd Smith, also in New Orleans. Filth, lack of facilities, even dead bodies plague the place as we learn that these people are not allowed to walk to other towns -- they are blocked on the freeway and kept in the convention center.

The damages from Hurricane Katrina, the fourth most powerful hurricane to make landfall on the contiguous U.S.A., resulted in 1,392 fatalities and $125 billion in damages. The response was widely seen as bungled, with the FEMA director and superintendent of of New Orleans police resigning, and many public officials facing intense criticism.

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The life and death moments caught on tape and shared, with priincipals involved in those calls on stage. February 28th, 1996.

"...what he did was he came over to my house...sat down behind me. Just kind of reached around and just started stabbing me, several times."

The case of Clifton McCree is first discussed. We hear from Douglas, who was at work when his co-worker was shot by that disgruntled ex-employee. He describes the scene and the experience. James Douglas a law enforcement official who was one of the first to get there and from the phone he describes the scene upon arrival, the worst yet in his civilian life.

Janice describes being stabbed over fifty times by her ex-husband Darryl. Her aunt Deborah is in studio and thinks it's wrong that the man should be eligible for parole so soon. What if he tries bloody murder again?

The case of Daniel Kennedy is discussed, a man who went home and killed his step-mother, two daughters, and himself.

In Euclid Ohio a standoff is heard on tape, where three teenagers barricaded themselves with guns and were facing off with the police. The mother of one of those teenagers, Jason Gammon, is in studio with her attorney as she is filing a lawsuit related to his death.

The scene of the shooting is laid out by Cleveland affiliate Martin Savidge before attorney Mark moves onto the facts of the case.

We hear from police dispatcher Tina about a call she'll never forget, two residents beaten and mugged. Gary Esson was an officer on his way home with two criminals in the back of his cruiser already when he heard the dispatch, and he caught the burglars who did it. Murray, a man who was saved by these actions, speaks over the phone.

A prison interview with Deborah Hill is shown, before her son Travis speaks in studio. His mom is in jail for killing an abusive partner. Charlotte is Deborah's mother, also in studio, and she says they all lived in fear of Omar. James her father speaks out and doesn't think Deborah should've gotten any jail tail at all. If she had been able to call 911 would she even be in jail at all?

The show concludes with an appeal to the governor of North Carolina to let Deborah Hill out of jail.

This day, Geraldo's Television History.

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1992. Geraldo Rivera and his Now It Can Be Told program investigate the WWII era Port Chicago disaster of 1944. Munitions being loaded at the port exploded, killing over 300 sailors and civilians and wounding nearly 400 more. Many at the port refused to return until safety measures were taken. Of those, 50 were convicted of mutiny by the navy and over 200 charged with various crimes. In this clip we hear directly from some of these men, who during 1992 still lived with the stigma of being 'mutineers'.

The vast majority of those killed, wounded and convicted were black men. It wasn't until 2024 that all 256 convicted men were exonerated by the U.S. Navy, including those who served prison time for mutiny.

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