Author: Juan A. Lozano
HOUSTON (AP) — Guns drawn. Throw stones. Threat message. Extended power outages in Houston after Hurricane Beryl led some fed-up and frustrated residents to vent their anger on maintenance crews trying to restore power across the city.
The threats and confrontations prompted police escorts and, in at least two cases, charges, with authorities and local officials pleading not to disturb linemen so they could do their jobs.
After making landfall on July 8, Beryl knocked out power to nearly 3 million people in Texas, mostly in the Houston area. Trees were uprooted and homes and businesses were damaged. State authorities reported Beryl killed 18 people. In the Houston area, some suffered injuries from heat exposure after losing power, according to the Harris County Medical Examiner's Office.
As of Tuesday, crews were still working to restore power to some residents.
“The linemen are our friends and they're doing their job. Don't threaten them. I understand you're angry and angry and frustrated, but let's get through this together,” Mayor John Whitmire said on Monday. said at a press conference.
Houston police have investigated at least five cases involving threats against workers and other employees, either in person or online.
In one case, police arrested 38-year-old Anthony Leonard and charged him with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Authorities said Leonard threw rocks at a group of CenterPoint Energy workers in a staging area on Saturday and pointed a gun at them.
Leonard remained jailed Tuesday. His attorney did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
CenterPoint CEO Jason Wells said more than 100 line workers had to be evacuated from staging areas on Saturday. He said the threat was counterproductive because staff had to move to safer areas, delaying their work.
“Many of our fellow Houstonians have handled this issue patiently and gracefully. I want to thank them. But unfortunately, in some cases, our crews working on this important restoration have either been threatened or There was actually violence. This is unacceptable. The safety of our staff is paramount,” Wells said.
KPRC reports that a woman from the Houston suburb of Baytown has been charged with terroristic threats. The Texas Department of Public Safety said the woman made repeated online threats to murder, assault and fatal acts against employees, including Wells, at the CenterPoint headquarters in downtown Houston. The woman has not been arrested.
Harris County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Mike Lee said the agency has investigated the break-in of a CenterPoint vehicle and three cases in which residents refused to allow patrol officers into their homes.
Ed Allen, business manager for International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 66, which represents CenterPoint workers, said in 42 years in the industry he has never seen such a reaction to threats from workers.
Allen said he spoke with a staff member who said they were working in a suburban Houston neighborhood when several men stood across the street from them and held assault rifles in a threatening manner.
“It's very disheartening to see the community where I work and where I've dedicated my life to providing electricity behaving like this at this event,” Allen said.
Staff told Allen on Tuesday they had not received any new threats.
“I hope things get better there. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that no matter what anyone thinks, the restoration is going well,” Allen said.
As of late Tuesday afternoon, CenterPoint reported that fewer than 82,000 customers were still without power.
On Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott sent a letter to CenterPoint asking for information from the company, including what actions it will take to reduce or eliminate outages during future storms and how it will respond before, during and after weather events. Improve communication with customers.
“Texans must be able to rely on their energy providers to keep their power supplied, even during hurricane season. It is your responsibility to properly prepare for these foreseeable events and to work tirelessly to restore power as quickly as possible in the event of an outage. Any deficiencies All unacceptable,” Abbott wrote.
CenterPoint said in a statement that it is complying with Abbott's request and said working with officials and community leaders to improve the grid's resiliency is critical to “creating and sustaining an environment in Texas where people want to live and do business.”
Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia said threats to CenterPoint staff and field crews will only make “restoring the lights more difficult and time-consuming.”
“These guys just want to help. Let them do their job and help us and tomorrow will be better.
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