A Thank You to Outside Agency Officers for Assistance Following Hurricane Beryl

July 16, 2024 - Houston Mayor John Whitmire and Police Chief Larry Satterwhite thank police officers from more than a dozen Texas police departments and the Department of Public Safety for their assistance in keeping Houston safe and covering for HPD officers who had been working 12-hour shifts and needed time to check on their families and homes in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl.

The officers arrived in Houston last Thursday, thanks to a partnership with the Texas Division of Emergency Management. They spent four days working alongside HPD officers around the clock to protect and serve our city. The special assignment ended on Monday, July 15, when nearly 100 officers departed Houston.

The outside agency officers teamed up to patrol areas of town, provide assistance on emergency calls, and help take dangerous individuals off the streets. In one instance, officers with the McKinney Police Department assisted HPD officers in a traffic stop leading to the identification and arrest of a wanted murder suspect. In another call, visiting agencies assisted HPD in serving a warrant on an aggravated assault suspect who initially refused to come out of his residence. Officers took him into custody without incident.

In addition, the squads of officers combined to arrest numerous suspects for burglaries of businesses in our city.

Mayor Whitmire had an opportunity to watch the partner agency officers in action at five locations over the weekend during a ride along with Acting Chief Satterwhite.

"I applaud the commitment and professionalism of the men and women who were backing up our hardworking Houston police officers. I thank TDEM for paying the costs associated with this plan. It is a great model of collaboration during a crisis and a really good experience that helped to keep Houston safe after Hurricane Beryl caused damage and knocked out power to our traffic lights and thousands of homes and businesses," said Mayor Whitmire. "We will monitor conditions this week and bring them back, if necessary, but I believe we are in good shape."

HPD Acting Chief Satterwhite said he hoped the partnership established during the combined efforts is a blue print for future operations. "There were lifetime friendships formed among some of our officers and those from our partner agencies," said Chief Satterwhite. "This teamwork is symbolic of the spirit of Texans and Houston, in particular. When one of us calls for assistance, all of us will be there to help."

The City of Houston extends our heartfelt thanks to the following cities and agencies: San Antonio PD, Dallas PD, Texas DPS, Fort Worth PD, Corpus Christi PD, Allen PD, Grand Prairie PD, Plano PD, Trophy Club PD, McKinney PD, Carrollton PD, Mesquite PD, Irving PD, Garland PD, Wylie PD, and Hudson Oaks PD.

7-16-24

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