Danielle Husband
As volunteers answered the call to help their fellow citizens stranded in their flooded homes along the Texas coast, police officers may have been too inebriated to take charge of the emergency.
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Three Rosenberg police officers were suspended for allegedly drinking on city property during Harvey.
According to Mayor Bill Benton, the officers were drinking in the police department while the floodwaters rose across the city.
RELATED: First responder contracts flesh-eating bacteria from Harvey’s floodwaters
Though the officers were off duty, they were still drinking on city property, which is illegal.
“For them to be drinking while people need their help? That’s pretty bad. That’s really sad,” Vicki Mapp told abc13 eyewitness news.
Last week, it was revealed that only a fraction of the city of Houston’s firefighters were called in to work during Harvey.
Juxtapose these disappointments with Holly Hartman, a local hero who told the Houston Chronicle how she became part of the Cajun Navy after downloading the app Zello.
RELATED: This 13-year-old hero got very resourceful to save 17 neighbors from Harvey’s flood
Zello works like a walkie-talkie, allowing members of the private group to communicate with each other. The app also enabled residents to call for help.
Through Zello, Hartman heard women providing directions or organizing rescues as the boats made their way into the impacted areas. When other volunteers needed relief, Hartman volunteered to take their place logging calls, verifying rescue requests, and dispatching the boats.
She had two minutes of training before taking charge.
Without the help of selfless volunteers like Hartman, the fate of those rescued by the rising floods may have turned tragic.
As neighbor helped neighbor and regular people became heroes, Texas and its neighbors in Louisiana showed the power of the human spirit.
