NEW ORLEANS -- Standing on a stack of wooden pallets, fueled by a few hours sleep and three years of indignation, Police Superintendent Warren Riley told 300 of his officers they had two missions during Hurricane Gustav: Protect the people and property of New Orleans and reverse a reputation as a rogue force that did more harm than good.

"When this storm is over, this is an opportunity for the world to look at this department differently," Riley said. "This is a chance to show who we really are."

Riley, 49, became police chief 28 days after Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005, smashing levees and flooding 80 percent of New Orleans. More than 1,000 residents died in New Orleans and the city was plunged into chaos.

A career officer who has been on the force for 27 years, Riley inherited a department in trouble. Immediately after Katrina, about half of the force was believed AWOL, there were reports of police looting, stealing vehicles from a Cadillac dealership, and brutality.

A shooting of unarmed people trying to cross a bridge, left two dead and four wounded, and resulted in murder and attempted murder charges against six officers. The charges were later thrown out by a judge.

But many of the early reports were wrong, Riley said.

"We had to rescue 300 officers who were stranded in theflooding," Riley recalled. "And another 50 from their houses. And that was before we could begin rescuing others."

Sixty-seven of the almost 1,700 officers then on the force were eventually fired for abandoning their posts during the storm.

One of Riley's first orders in the aftermath was a complete revision of the department's hurricane plan. Officers at every level contributed, but Riley was the driving force.

As Gustav rolled toward New Orleans on Labor Day weekend, the entire police force of 1,485 officers was on duty and accounted for.

"From now on, everybody works," Riley said. "It's probably the first time ever the department has put everyone on before the storm and will keep them on straight through."

Riley had given officers paid time off as part of the hurricane plan to move families and prepare their homes.

"It gives officers more of a sense of security so they can do their jobs," said Patrolman Matt Patin, 31. "During Katrina a lot of us didn't know if our families were safe or what had happened to them. That preys on your mind."

Patin, a five-year veteran who normally works in administration, was on the streets before, during and after Gustav hit.

"I think our plan this time was a tremendous improvement," Patin said. "We had a great anti-looting plan, we were on the streets from the start. The evacuation went smoothly."

The force was divided into three groups and housed in the highest parts of the city. Officers remained on the streets -- both stationed around town and patrolling with blue lights flashing -- until the wind reached 55 miles an hour.

At a warehouse uptown, the SWAT team and other emergency personnel were housed with equipment ranging from boats to tank-like vehicles -- much of it acquired through grants since Katrina. "We have 31 boats here," Riley said with obvious pride as he strode down the row. "Before Katrina the department had three."

Riley, who has a master's degree in criminal justice, has had to rebuild much of the department since Katrina. The command center was housed for two years in trailers, the crime lab returned after 17 months, and the force graduated its first group of recruits since the storm in November 2007.

The goal is to rebuild to 1,600 officers.

The charismatic Riley remembers names, seems to always have time to speak to people, shake hands and listen to what they have to say. He juggles a constantly ringing cell phone with requests relayed from the media, other departments, his officers.

People ask to have their pictures taken with him, kids want autographs.

"He's awesome," said Willie Hawkins, 10, who stopped to talk to the chief after disembarking from a train that returned evacuees to the city on Friday. "Really, really cool."

As the winds from Gustav died down Monday afternoon, Riley ordered his officers back to the streets. Fifteen minutes later cars were speeding through the city.

"The NOPD had a plan which was well executed," said David Welker, the FBI agent in charge of New Orleans. "And when the storm hit, their dedicated men and women were out in full force."

Aided by the evacuation of most of the city's residents, a storm that was not as dangerous as expected and a dusk-to-dawn curfew, there were 14 cases of looting in New Orleans reported as of Thursday compared to hundreds following Katrina.

"Even in my neighborhood (the Lower 9th Ward), where the police never come, I have seen the police twice in just a couple of hours," said Ken Foster, a co-founder of SilenceIsViolence, an anti-violence campaign that was founded after Katrina. "I drove around and saw no vandalism, I haven't heard of any looting. It's been really nice to return after this storm."

On Thursday, despite the lack of power, the city opened and police slowly began phasing back into their normal duties.

For Riley and his officers, it was a personal and professional mission accomplished.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)