HOUSTON — Two injured Houston police officers were on the minds of hundreds of their colleagues working Christmas Day.
Officers spent the day helping those officers’ families, in between feeding hundreds of staff on duty for the holiday at the Houston Police Officers Union headquarters near downtown Houston.
Sgt. Luis Menendez, an HPOU board member, started the lunch several years ago after seeing evening shift officers holding their own Thanksgiving dinner while they were working away from their families.
Since then, he says HPOU’s Christmas meal has grown from initially serving 125 meals to currently dishing out 200 meals.
"I think it's a little boost to know that we do care,” he says. “All the restaurants are closed, so it’s kinda difficult to get something to eat.”
The event also gives his own family a place to celebrate.
“If you're together as a family and serving the community, that means a lot more," said his wife, Mirna Menendez, who was eating lunch with her mom, two kids, and in-laws.
However, on this Christmas, some officers say there's a different vibe from typical years.
"It's a little bit more somber,” said Douglas Griffith, Vice President of HPOU.
Two colleagues, Officers John Daily and Alonzo Reid, were badly burned in a head-on crash with a suspected drunk driver a day earlier.
It's a problem officers say gets worse around the holidays, especially at night.
"It's brutal out there,” said Griffith. “We had several arrests last night."
"Sometimes you're just thinking about what time can you get home, and ‘I just wanna get home and see my family,’” said Sgt. Menendez.
On Christmas Day, several officers echoed the call made by the injured officers' families: don’t drink and drive.
Meanwhile, Griffith and Assistant Chief Larry Satterwhite packed up hot meals and cold drinks to deliver to those families and the officers working at the hospital.
"Serve them, let them know we care about them,” said Asst. Chief Satterwhite. “We're all a family.”
Asst. Chief Satterwhite says the public can help, too.
“More than anything else, keep praying and take care of each other,” he said. “That’s what Houston does.”