2022 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 123
BY SENATORS CONNICK, ABRAHAM, ALLAIN, BARROW, BERNARD,
BOUDREAUX, BOUIE, CARTER, CLOUD, CORTEZ, FESI, FIELDS,
FOIL, HARRIS, HENRY, HENSGENS, HEWITT, LAMBERT,
LUNEAU, MCMATH, MILLIGAN, FRED MILLS, ROBERT MILLS,
MIZELL, MORRIS, PEACOCK, POPE, PRICE, REESE, SMITH,
TALBOT, TARVER, WARD, WHITE AND WOMACK
A RESOLUTION
To commend Sergeant Stephen Rhodes for his dedicated service and heroic actions in
rescuing nine people from a capsized vessel.
WHEREAS, Sergeant Stephen Rhodes was patrolling on Grand Isle in Jefferson
Parish on May 7, 2022, when he observed a vessel with numerous passengers in distress near
the rock jetties and taking on water; and
WHEREAS, nearby Good Samaritans shuttled Sergeant Rhodes to his truck and
patrol vessel in order to effect a rescue; and
WHEREAS, after launching his patrol vessel and arriving on scene, Sergeant Rhodes
found eight people clustered on the overturned vessel's hull and learned that a seven-year-old
girl was still underwater; and
WHEREAS, Sergeant Rhodes immediately dropped his patrol gear and dove in to
search for the girl under the capsized vessel; he quickly found her but she was unresponsive;
and
WHEREAS, with the assistance of the Good Samaritans, Sergeant Rhodes lifted the
little girl onto his enforcement vessel, where he began CPR to revive her; and
WHEREAS, after two rounds of performing CPR, Sergeant Rhodes noticed eye
movement, then a heartbeat, and finally the movement of her chest as she began to breathe
again; and
WHEREAS, Sergeant Rhodes secured the girl in his vessel and sped to the nearby
Bridge Side Marina, where paramedics were waiting to airlift her to Children's Hospital in
New Orleans; and
WHEREAS, after a brief stay in the hospital, the young girl has fully recovered and
returned home; and
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WHEREAS, Sergeant Rhodes is a fifteen-year veteran of the Louisiana Department
of Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Division, who has dedicated his career to educating
the public on safe boating practices and enforcing boating safety laws; he is recognized by
his supervisors and coworkers as a professional, dedicated to the community he serves and
the mission of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby commend Sergeant Stephen Rhodes on his years of dedicated service and on the
selflessness and bravery he personified on May 7, 2022, when he rescued nine people from
their capsized vessel and saved the life of a seven-year-old girl.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
Sergeant Stephen Rhodes.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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