HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - The Harris County Sheriff's Office is pushing for a safer place for residents to exchange items after reports of people being robbed or assaulted over the sale of things like an old iPhone or air conditioning unit.
David De Leon, who oversees Harris County's Reserve Deputy Division, says at least one uniformed reserve deputy will be in a marked patrol unit outside a Clay Road substation from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday.
It's a pilot program, and if enough people use the safe exchange location, Harris County will consider adding it to four other substations throughout the county which boasts more than 4 million residents.
"I’ve gotten rid of a space heater, a window unit, a TV stand. Whenever I sold that window unit and I had to carry it and put it in the lady’s trunk of her car, and I was thinking, 'Maybe somebody’s hiding there! This is where they’re going to get me, because my hands are full,'" Daniel Solano joked when asked about whether he was nervous about inviting strangers to his home in Shady Acres.
"Well, you see this on the news all the time. You see where somebody goes to do an exchange and they’re robbed," De Leon said. "You see where they go to do an exchange, and their car is taken away from them."
The Harris County Sheriff's Office posted these details online Friday:
"Harris County Sheriff’s Office District 4 substation, located at 16715 Clay Road, is now offering a safe meeting place to complete person-to person sales transactions. Law enforcement will be on site from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays to ensure the safety of our residents while completing sales arranged on web-based shopping sites, such as Craigslist. Deputies will not be involved in sales negotiations, but will be available solely to ensure the safety of those involved.
"For future updates about our safe exchange zone follow us on Twitter @HCSOTexas, Nextdoor or like us on Facebook."
"We’re not allowed to assist you with civil issues," De Leon said. "You know, if there’s a haggling on price or if there’s something you don’t like with what they’re bringing to sell you, that is a different issue."
The Clay Road substation was chosen as the first location for the pilot program, because Harris County deputies say it's the area that's seen the biggest population hike with Cypress, Copperfield, Bear Creek and Katy nearby.
"You don’t know who you’re meeting," De Leon said about why a safe exchange location is so important. "You don’t know what the intentions of the other person are."