HOUSTON — Guns drawn. Rocks thrown. Threatening messages. Houston’s long term failure as a sequel to Hurricane Beryl are a number of frustrated residents taking out their anger on the repair workers who are trying to restore power throughout the city.
The threats and confrontations led to police escorts, in at least two cases charges, and pleas from authorities and local officials to leave the mechanics alone so they could do their jobs.
Beryl knocked out power to nearly 3 million people in Texas, most of them in the Houston area, after it made landfall on July 8. The storm brought heavy rains and winds that uprooted trees and damaged homes and businesses along the Texas coast and in parts of Southeast Texas. State authorities have reported 18 deaths from Beryl. In the Houston area, some were from heat exposure after power outages, the Harris County coroner’s office said.
On Tuesday, emergency services were still working to restore power to some residents.
“Linemen are our friends and they are doing their job. Don’t threaten them. I understand that you are angry and furious and frustrated“But let’s get through this together,” Mayor John Whitmire said during a news conference Monday.
Houston police have investigated at least five cases where employees and other workers were threatened, both in person and online.
In one of those cases, police arrested Anthony Leonard, 38, and charged him with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Authorities allege Leonard threw rocks and pointed a gun at a group of CenterPoint Energy employees who were at a gathering place on Saturday.
Leonard remained in custody Tuesday. His attorney did not immediately respond to a phone call seeking comment.
CenterPoint CEO Jason Wells said more than 100 workers on the jobsite had to be evacuated from the staging area Saturday. He said such threats are counterproductive because crews have to be moved to safer areas, slowing down their work.
“So many of our fellow Houstonians have handled this situation with patience and grace. And I want to thank them. But unfortunately, there have been instances where violence has been threatened or actually committed against our crews working on this essential restoration. This is unacceptable. The safety of our crews is paramount,” Wells said.
KPRC reported that a charge of making a terroristic threat has been filed against a woman from the Houston suburb of Baytown. The Texas Department of Public Safety alleges the woman made multiple online threats of murder, assault and deadly conduct against employees, including Wells, at the CenterPoint headquarters in downtown Houston. The woman has not been arrested.
Harris County Sheriff’s Office Chief Mike Lee said his agency has been investigating a CenterPoint vehicle break-in and three incidents where residents refused to let mechanics enter their property.
Ed Allen, manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union No. 66, which represents workers at CenterPoint, said he has never seen a response like this, with workers being threatened.
Allen said he spoke with a crew who said they were working in a Houston suburb and several men were standing across from them, holding assault rifles menacingly.
“It is very disheartening to see the community that I have worked in and dedicated my life to providing electricity behave in this manner during this event,” Allen said.
The teams informed Allen on Tuesday that they had not received any new threats.
“I hope things have gotten better out there. I think part of that has to do with the fact that, regardless of what anyone thinks, the restoration efforts have gone very well,” Allen said.
As of 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 the company for information, including what steps it will take to reduce or prevent power outages during future storms and how it will improve communications with its customers before, during and after a weather event.
“Texans need to be able to trust their energy providers to keep their power flowing, even during hurricane season. It is your responsibility to prepare for these anticipated incidents and work tirelessly to restore power as quickly as possible when it does go out. Anything less is unacceptable,” Abbott wrote.
Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia said the threats against CenterPoint employees and out-of-town crews “only make it harder and longer to get the lights back on.”
“These people are just here to help. Let them do their job and help us and tomorrow will be a better day,” Garcia said.
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Follow Juan A. Lozano on Twitter: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70