SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio police officers are back after answering the call, having returned home after helping Houston law enforcement in the aftermath of Beryl's arrival earlier this month.
SAPD Lt. David Bacarreza was in charge and also part of the crew that went to Houston on July 11.
"We had less than 24 hours to deploy," he said. "It was a huge undertaking."
After getting the request for help, SAPD sent out a call for volunteers. Twenty-two SAPD officers responded.
"They just knew they wanted to go to Houston and help out,” he said. "They selflessly answered the calls, leaving their families behind."
The group left last week, staying for the weekend before returning Monday. Bacarreza said they weren’t told much in terms of what to expect.
"They did mention of some reports of looting in the area," he said. "A lot of the issue was the fact that the power was down."
SAPD said they sent the most officers out of any other agency in the state to help HPD after Beryl. The officers also worked an unfamiliar 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. shift.
"We worked nights, overnights, and with the power out," Bacarreza said. "It was pitch-black in an area we are not familiar with, and that was very challenging."
PHOTOS: San Antonio police assist Houston law enforcement after Beryl
Bacarreza said each SAPD officer was paired with a counterpart from HPD. He also gave insight about the area they covered.
"Knowing that it is a dangerous area, that's something we were informed (of) is that we were in a challenging area of town, where they had the highest rate of violent crime in the area," he said.
Given that the power was out, burglaries at businesses and looting were a top concern.
There ended up being one call he won't forget.
"They actually wrangled two horses in the middle of nowhere," he said. "That was something special and different that we don't see every day."
Bacarreza also gave praise to those who stayed behind.
"I want to thank their families for allowing them to help," he said. "And also those officers that stayed behind and picked up the shifts of the officers who went to Houston."
He said they also provided relief to Houston officers who had been working nonstop, while they themselves endured prolonged power outages at home.