Thousands Without Power Nearly a Week After Beryl, Concern for Public Safety Grows – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

The city of Houston has asked the state for additional police assistance to help communities left in the dark after Hurricane Beryl.

As of Thursday, more than 1 million power outages remained. An official at Houston’s largest electric company said 500,000 customers will still be without power next week.

The Houston Police Department said more officers are needed as frustration mounts four days after the storm.

“We have crews out there working to restore power and we’re helping them,” Houston Police Chief Larry Satterwhite said. “We have crews setting up generators at intersections, and it’s very dark. We’re helping them out as well. So you can imagine the demands we’re facing with this power outage.”

In total, 100 agents from across Texas will be assisting Houston, but the majority of them are from North Texas. These include Dallas, Fort Worth, Allen, Grand Prairie, Plano, Trophy Club, McKinney, Carrollton, Mesquite, Irving and Garland.

On Thursday morning, dozens of officers were greeted by Chief Eddie Garcia at Dallas police headquarters before their departure.

“They need police officers to help their community,” Garcia said. “They’ll have two-seater vehicles patrolling their areas. Obviously, they’ll be working 12-hour shifts. They’re working during the evening hours, which are the hours when they need the most help.”

At a news conference Thursday, Houston Mayor John Whitmire said he was grateful to acting Gov. Dan Patrick and the Texas Department of Emergency Management for approving the collaboration.

“We are concerned about traffic enforcement. We have 1,400 traffic lights out of service,” Whitmire said. “Plus, it will take the pressure off of HPD officers who are working 12-hour days. They have their families to take care of. This is a great collaborative program to ensure public safety and look out for our first responders.”

According to TDEM, Texas launched programs to mobilize local law enforcement to disaster areas in the late 1990s.

“Being able to hire local government employees and get paid by the state or federal government … to help someone else in a disaster,” Kidd said. “It’s the right thing to do.”

While the North Texas agents will remain in Houston until at least Sunday evening, Satterwhite said their time could be extended depending on the progress CenterPoint Energy makes.