Texas law enforcement helps Livingston parish deputies

LIVINGSTON – About 70 of the 300 deputies at the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office are displaced due to last week's flood. As they continue to work long hours, their family members in blue from Texas are stepping up to support them.

Tammy Bowden's husband is a Sergeant for Livingston Parish and a member of the SWAT team. She said that he left for work at 4:30 a.m. the day the flood waters came.

"He was out basically rescuing people and I don't even remember when I saw him again that night I don't even know. I called him to let him know that our house was flooding and I was a little freaked out," Bowden said.

Ric Garcia is also a member of the SWAT team except for Hidalgo County in Texas some 600 miles away.

"I know that if something were to happen I would not be home. I would be out in the community just like these deputies were too," Garcia said.

Garcia and four members of his nonprofit organization, Texas Sheep Dogs, are supporting Louisiana law enforcement as best they can.

"The blue is a family. It doesn't matter where you're at, or what state you're in, or where you are in the world. If you are in law-enforcement you know that you're always going to have somebody to back you and support you and be there for your family," Garcia said.

An 18-wheeler of supplies was donated to the help the 71 Livingston Parish deputies and their family get back on their feet.

"We are just one hurricane away from that down in South Texas. We are one disaster away from that so we wanted to extend any help that we could, we wanted to put together anything that we could to help our brothers and sisters here in Louisiana," Garcia said.

Livingston Parish officials estimate about 80 percent of home received damage with most home being a total loss. The crew from Texas says they hope to spread the work about the devastation back in the Lone Star state.