‘The Right Thing to Do': Dallas Police Join Relief Mission for Houston Cops

The space the Dallas Police Association usually uses for retirement parties and fundraisers looked like a garage sale Wednesday morning.In less than 24 hours, the department had gathered donations from all over North Texas: socks, clothes, hygiene supplies and heaps of food for Houston's police officers.Someone even brought a bag of teddy bears.For days on end, law enforcement officers in the Houston area have had the daunting task of searching for and rescuing people trapped by Harvey's floodwaters — while also managing a weary public. Many are working without sleep and without seeing their families.Officers in Dallas, who got a taste of exhaustion after last summer's deadly ambush, want to pay it forward this summer by helping Houston recuperate. Four Dallas officers left for Houston on Wednesday morning, taking with them a trailer filled with donations from across Dallas-Fort Worth.The officers didn't know what they'd be doing in Houston — or where they'd stay -- but their tentative plan was to help the Houston Police Officers Union feed and house first-responders. They said they also wanted to give the Houston police union's staff the chance to take its first break since Harvey made landfall over the weekend."It's the right thing to do," said Dallas police Detective Mark Richardson, who was among the Dallas officers going to Houston.  Continue reading...