Chat With The Chief: Storm Recovery Efforts

As cleanup and recovery efforts across the Oklahoma City metro continue in the wake of severe storms earlier this week, Oklahoma City Police are working to organize their efforts in situations such as these.

Oklahoma City Police Chief Ron Bacy said although tornadoes in November came as a surprise, his department trains for emergencies year-round.

"You don't just train for storm season, because in Oklahoma, every month is storm season," Bacy said. "We don't know what we're going to get, so we have a great emergency management unit and emergency response team that stayed diligent in their efforts to prepare for these instances. We saw them on full display when we were needed most this past weekend."

Bacy said his officers were involved in rescue efforts, but also in ensuring public safety by condoning off dangerous parts of the area.

"Blocking off intersections where we saw power lines down and debris, but also an initial sweep for injuries and checking structures to make sure we didn't have fatalities or people that were in need," Bacy said. "We eventually were able to conduct a secondary sweep, working alongside the fire department as well."

In addition to OCPF and OKCFD's efforts, Bacy said OG&E headed power restoration efforts while Oklahoma Natural Gas worked to cut off or prevent any gas leaks.

When looking at the scope of the damage across the area, Bacy said it can be hard to see everything all at once.

"It's hard to quantify what you what we saw," Bacy said. "What we saw are lives changed, we saw people who went to bed one night, and they woke up in the middle of the night, and their lives will be forever changed."

However, Bacy said he trusted the Oklahoma City community to show resilience in trying times.

"This is Oklahoma City, and if we're known for nothing else, we're known for resilience," Bacy said. "I'm asking every member of this community to wrap your arms around those people who need it the most, and we've seen that."