Scrolling social media while sitting in a candlelit room after Hurricane Milton knocked out my power in Tampa Bay, I was uplifted to see many posts from scores of South Florida law enforcement agencies holding prayer sessions before departing for my region.
These observations of prayerful backup officers departing from afar were made while recharging my cell phone in my automobile (a necessary routine), and scrolling Instagram to keep abreast of resources and salvation.
I learned that a large contingent of cops was destined to provide some respite for the litany of LEOs who had been out there before the natural disaster made landfall and upended the Sunshine State, predominately West Central Florida where Tampa is located coastally, in Hillsborough County.
On October 15, 2024, “…officers, dispatchers, and IT personnel from the [Miami Dade Police Department], alongside other municipalities, deployed to Tampa to provide crucial support in response to #HurricaneMilton. A total of 150 dedicated employees are part of this multi-agency effort to assist the community during this critical time,” said an MDPD spokesperson.
(Photo courtesy of Team South Florida.)
Signs of wear and tear are evident everywhere I looked: Massive trees uprooted and tossed like toothpicks; boats launched from the sea and onto land; metal street signs twisted like Twizzlers; thousands of homes marked by high-up water lines; linemen at every turn; much more destruction depicts nature’s force and daunting aftermath.
Body counts began to hit the airwaves, compelling me to think about the mental health of cops at each death scene, climbing over mounds of debris to help excavate decedents after navigating significant flood waters.
In all this climate carnage, deputies, police officers, and state troopers are ubiquitous, serving the stunned citizenry in across-the-board capacities.
Previously, the National Police Association published the litany of roles LEOs filled after a prior hurricane (Ian) carved through and left a long trail of devastation, portraying always resourceful cops getting right down to brass tacks with tools and sweat equity, illustrating wearing many hats.
On Monday, mitigating the mess continued…
Hillsborough County deputies were at every turn, largely directing traffic at intersections whose overhead traffic lights were without power, requiring old-school traffic control…in the intense heat exacerbated by uniforms and duty gear constricting midsections.
(Photo courtesy of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.)
I was out with family, scouting fuel stations with a gas supply. Police escorts for every tanker laden with fuel capped at the Port of Tampa became a regularity (expedited deliveries).
Even in the service stations, deputies were coordinating the flow of cars at the pumps. Reports of fisticuffs over gasoline occurred in various fuel stations. Impatient and short-tempered people brandishing firearms also started evolving. LEOs were assigned to monitor many sources of fuel.
We waited in line for roughly 25 minutes (not bad, considering) and were directed by a county deputy to a pump at a WaWa station.
Upon leaving with a full tank, we headed back out and made our way to the intersection where three deputies were directing traffic under a powerless traffic light. As we drove by, I noticed one of the three deputies was bent at the waist, his palms cupping his kneecaps, his mouth breathing like a goldfish. His face glistened with sweat.
No doubt the heat, infinite shifts, and apocalyptic surroundings weighed far heavier than his sweat-drenched ballistic vest.
Tacitly, I pondered the anti-police fools who harangue America’s LEOs.
Thousands of Tampa Bay cops whose homes were flattened and flooded by Hurricane Milton nevertheless remained dutiful.
Help was on the way! But departure prayers were first…
(Photo courtesy of Sheriff Deputies on Instagram.)
The Sunshine State’s counties unaffected by Hurricane Milton sent sworn personnel and equipment from sheriff’s offices to “base camp” in Tampa Bay. Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister received them and helped them set up in a predetermined complex.
“Immense gratitude for the sheriff’s offices who rallied and are here, working long hours, assisting teamHCSO as we recover from Hurricane Milton and our community begins to heal,” Sheriff Chronister said.
These sheriff’s offices came equipped with agency-marked apparatus —trailers with showers, boats, generators, mobile command centers, amphibious vessels, crews with chainsaws, ATVs, and a bevy of pertinent apparatus to handle the monumental task ahead —and are living in large tents.
From the municipal police jurisdictions came scores of cops, cruisers marked with respective city insignia, rescue equipment, boats, tools, food, water, chainsaws, you name it.
For those citizens who wonder how they can personally help the situation, the South Florida LEOs are driving various patrol cruisers funded by taxpayers. Those same police cars and rescue vehicles are take-home units, the respective names of municipalities they belong to seen by plenty of hurricane-impacted people and will never forget cops from all over came to Tampa Bay communities to help with a surreal situation, all possible by revenue via taxes.
It is humbling to know that gobs of help were on the way from a multitude of unaffected law enforcement organizations volunteering to pitch in, prop up local cops, and provide relief to severely exhausted LEOs who have yet to address their own damaged properties and console their loved ones in the thick of a natural disaster.
On that note, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited the Sun Coast Police Benevolent Association and conferred a $100,000 check expressly for local cops impacted by both recent back-to-back hurricanes.
(Photo courtesy of the Sun Coast Police Benevolent Association.)
On October 15, 2024, “Governor DeSantis presented a check for $100,000 to the PBA to distribute to PBA members whose homes were destroyed or severely damaged by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Sun Coast PBA president Jonathan Vazquez was proud to be present.”
And the beat goes on…
A friend of mine is a cop with the Tampa Police Department. He wrote the following: “I am exhausted but humbled to have worked alongside hundreds of First Responders and utility workers over the past few days.
“On one occasion, I directed traffic while about 600 linemen in their trucks arrived at a location at the end of their shift. I will say wholeheartedly that this country would not function without their hard work.”
It is also humbling to say that his sentiments toward the linemen are identical to those among us who feel the same deep respect for law enforcement officers tirelessly pushing through this surreal experience and many others that challenge the human brain and physical endurance.
“Back at it tomorrow,” he added. Relief and rest, if only temporary.
Serving humanity, in every way possible, for as long as it takes…
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