Houston Thanks Outside Agencies for Help Following Hurricane Beryl | Community

Houston Mayor John Whitmire and Police Chief Larry Satterwhite thank officers from more than a dozen Texas police departments and the Department of Public Safety for their help in keeping Houston safe and replacing HPD officers who were 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 on July 11, through 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. This special mission concluded on Monday, July 15, when nearly 100 officers departed Houston.

Officers from outside agencies teamed up to patrol neighborhoods across the city, assisting in emergencies and helping to remove dangerous individuals from the streets. In one instance, McKinney Police Department officers assisted HPD officers in conducting a traffic stop that led to the identification and arrest of a wanted murder suspect. In another instance, visiting agencies assisted HPD in serving an arrest warrant on an aggravated assault suspect who initially refused to leave his home. Officers took him into custody without incident.

Additionally, squads of officers combined to arrest numerous suspects in business burglaries in our city.

Mayor Whitmire had the opportunity to observe officers from partner agencies 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 supported our hardworking Houston Police Officers. I thank TDEM for paying the costs associated with this plan. It is a great model of collaboration in times of crisis and a great experience that helped 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 restore them if necessary, but I believe we are in a good position.”

HPD Interim Chief Satterwhite said he hopes the partnership established during the combined efforts will serve as a model for future operations. “Lifelong friendships have been formed between some of our officers and those from our partner agencies,” Chief Satterwhite said. “This teamwork symbolizes the spirit of Texans and Houston, in particular. When one of us calls for help, we will all be there to help.”

The City of Houston extends its sincere appreciation 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.