LDWF agent selected as Officer of the Year

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council honors Guillory for Pecan Island rescues

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council honored a Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries enforcement agent as its 2015 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year award for rescuing eight people from three different vessels in distress last September.

Sgt. Nicholas Guillory received the award on Aug. 17 from Council Chairman Kevin Anson for his work on Sept. 6, 2015 in Vermilion Parish, when he received a call about a boat taking on water in the Gulf of Mexico near Pecan Island.

“It was raining so hard that I could barely see anything, but I decided to launch my vessel anyway,’’ Guillory said in a news release. “As I traveled toward the Gulf of Mexico, I couldn’t even see the bow of my own vessel because the rainfall was so heavy.”

On his way to help on the original call, Guillory spotted an individual in mud up to his waist and rescued him, then assisted two other individuals in a vessel that was taking on water. He brought all three men in, and then safely towed their vessel to Rollover Canal.

Still in search of the original distress call, he then reentered the Gulf and found another vessel beached and yet another one underwater. He ultimately hooked his patrol boat to the beached vessel and got it in position to pump enough water out so that it could float and be towed to inside waters, and brought everyone back safely.

“Sgt. Guillory did a phenomenal job of rescuing eight people without injury and recovering three vessels in very rough conditions,” said LDWF Enforcement Chief Col. Joey Broussard. “He deserves any awards he receives for his effort as this could have had a very different outcome if not for the skill, bravery and determination he showed in this successful search and rescue mission.”

Nominees for the award were submitted by each of the five Gulf states’ law enforcement agencies, the U.S. Coast Guard, and NOAA Fisheries’ Office for Law Enforcement.