Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner confirmed the death of Houston police officer, Sgt. Steve Perez, who drowned in his vehicle while driving to assist others in Harvey’s devastating flooding.
Sgt. Perez left his home at 4:30 a.m. to report to an emergency, despite his wife urging him to stay home because of the dangerous driving conditions.
“I’ve got work to do,” Perez told wife, who urged him to reconsider reporting for duty.
— Sylvester Turner (@SylvesterTurner) August 29, 2017
On Monday morning, his superiors realized he had not shown up for work.
Ash he chokes up, Chief Acevedo said, “Every day we ask men and women to show up in good and bad conditions. Today I simply say our heart is saddened…Steve is one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met.”
The chief recalled tearfully asking Perez’s widow, “How do you think he would have wanted to go? Watching or doing what he had been doing for 34 years?”
Perez served on the force for 34 years and was two days shy of his 61st birthday. He leaves behind a wife and 2 children.
