State & Local

The Pact Changing How Governments Respond to Disaster

Governing: Detective Carlos Mercado’s mission during his 16-day disaster relief tour in Puerto Rico last fall was to fill in for local police who needed a break. Many of the Puerto Rican officers had been working 12- to 15-hour days, seven days a week since Hurricane Maria pummeled the island with 155 mph winds, destroying the power grid and leaving many roads impassable. The workload for Puerto Rican police officers eventually grew so big -- while at the same time overtime checks were being delayed -- that there was widespread absenteeism among cops at the end of the year.

Mercado, a 21-year veteran of the police department in Lowell, Mass., spends most of his time investigating child abuse, domestic violence and other family cases. But in Puerto Rico, he went on traffic patrol, taking charge where signals weren’t working because the power was out. The heat was sweltering, even in November. Mercado was grateful that the Lowell Police Department had bought them summer uniforms with baseball caps, in place of the long-sleeved polyester uniforms with peaked hats that they typically wear. Officers from Oregon weren’t so lucky; they were stuck in Puerto Rico with their winter gear.

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