• John Braden •
• Originally published January 8, 2009 at 11:13 a.m., updated January 8, 2009 at 11:13 a.m.

Deputy Bill Orton, along with Capt. Crow, Lt. Morales and Sgt. Brown, heeded a call from Galveston County Sheriff Gean Leonard on Saturday, Sept. 20, to help patrol the waterways after Hurricane Ike’s devastating impact on the Galveston area communities. The crew patrolled the waterways around Port Bolivar for looters and kept people out of the area until ground crews were able to ensure the roadways were safe for the residents to return. Matagorda County Sheriff James Mitchell had this crew of four and its 25-foot Gulf Coast boat fully prepared and launched within 24 hours of hearing help was needed. Mitchell has known Leonard for more than 12 years, and said they have a great working relationship, as they both do also with the sheriff in Jefferson County. “It really comes as no surprise to me that we got such a response from neighboring agencies like we did,” Leonard said. “Mitchell offered to provide help that many agencies around here can’t; help on the waterways.” The crew left for Galveston at about 4:30 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 21, and worked 12-hour days every day, before returning on the following Thursday. “I think a lot of people that live on the coast take Mother Nature for granted,” Orton said. “She has an unbelievable amount of destruction and power. When you actually go through the area, and see the miles and miles of destroyed homes and businesses, it’s like a war zone.” The Bay City Police Department also helped by sending officers and one unit to help with street patrol at about the same time. “We got notice from numerous associations that wanted officers to come help with patrol,” said Bay City Police Chief Roger Barker. “They wanted to give some of their officers, who had been working 24/7 since the storm, a few days off to tend to personal matters with their homes and families.” Barker said that within three hours of the emails being sent out asking for help on Monday, Sept. 22, there were enough replacements lined up to give all the Galveston Police Department workers about five days off. A 13-county area all pitched in to help, he said. Barker sent Sgt. Chris Crummett and officer Matt Staszesky, both who are familiar with the Houston and Galveston area, down from the afternoon of Sept. 23 through the morning of Sept. 25. “Your next door neighbor is going to get there a lot quicker and he’s going to stay a lot longer,” Mitchell said. “We’re always going be there to help each other.”

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