Half a million Houston-area homes and businesses still won't have power into next week

HOUSTON (AP) — About half a million Houston-area homes and businesses will still be without electricity next week, the city's largest utility said Thursday, stoking the frustration of hot and weary residents and leading a top state official to call the pace of recovery from Hurricane Beryl “not acceptable.”

Jason Ryan, executive vice president of CenterPoint Energy, said power has been restored to more than 1 million homes and businesses since Beryl made landfall in Texas on Monday. And the company expects to get hundreds of thousands of more customers back online by Sunday. But many more will wait much longer.

“We know that we still have a lot of work to do,” Ryan said during a meeting of the Texas Public Utility Commission, the state's utility regulation agency. “We will not stop the work until it is done.”

Ryan said that the prolonged outages into next week would be concentrated along the Gulf Coast, close to where Beryl came ashore.

During a news conference Thursday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick pushed CenterPoint to work faster to relieve residents who have been without power for days and have been forced to seek air conditioning in community cooling centers and meals from food and water distribution points.

Compounding their discomfort was a new band of rainstorms that swept through the Houston area Thursday. The rain provided brief relief from the heat before temperatures were expected to creep back above 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius) over the weekend.

“Folks, that is not acceptable,” that half a million customers could still be without power a week after the storm, said Patrick, who is acting governor while Gov. Greg Abbott is in Asia on an economic development trip.

Patrick and Abbott have both promised that the state will investigate the storm response. Texas has dealt with several major storms over the past two decades.

“We are always going to have big storms in this area. ... We have to be sure they were prepared as they should have been," Patrick said. “It's a terrible situation for people who are in this heat.”

Patrick and Abbott also sparred with the White House over the timing of requests for federal declarations for the area, whether they would delay help for storm cleanup and other emergency expenses.

The Category 1 hurricane — the weakest type — knocked out power to around 2.7 million customers after it made landfall, according to PowerOutage.us.

Residents have been frustrated that such a relatively weak storm could cause such disruption at the height of summer.

Some have criticized the utility and state and city officials as not ready for the storm, the slow restoration process, and that CenterPoint's online map has been woefully inaccurate, sometimes showing entire neighborhoods as restored when they were still without power.

The company acknowledged that most of the 12,000 workers it brought in to help the recovery were not in the Houston area when the storm arrived. Initial forecasts had the storm blowing ashore much farther south along the Gulf Coast, near the Texas-Mexico border, before it headed toward Houston.

Ryan said the vast majority of outages were caused by falling trees and tree limbs, and workers had to conduct damage surveys on more than 8,500 miles of power lines.

Beryl has been blamed for at least nine U.S. deaths and 11 in the Caribbean.

The storm’s lingering impact for many in Texas, however, was the wallop to the power supply that left much of the nation’s fourth-largest city sweltering.

Mallary Cohee said her duplex in New Caney, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of Houston, has been without power since Monday. She said her “little country neighborhood” is a “hot mess” of downed trees, so she's staying at a Houston hotel.

Cohee said she initially felt she could withstand the lack of air conditioning because she she managed to get by without it in summer while serving a two-year prison sentence.

“I thought, ‘I can do this. I can ride it. If I can do time with no heat, no AC in there, I could possibly make it,’” Cohee said. “But it’s a whole different ballgame when you don’t even have a fan to plug in.”

Clean water was also becoming an issue. More than 160 boil water notices were in effect across the area, and more than 100 wastewater treatment plants were offline Thursday, said Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management.

The Texas Hospital Association said a “vast majority” of hospitals in the area are dealing with some kind of issue caused by Beryl, including water and wind damage, power and internet connection problems, staffing shortages or transportation problems.

Carrie Kroll, the association’s vice president of advocacy, public policy and political strategy, said hospitals are getting an “extremely high” number of people coming to emergency departments with symptoms of heat stroke and injuries from cleaning up debris.

By Wednesday night, hospitals had already sent more than 100 patients who couldn't be released to homes with no power to a Houston sports and event complex with an area set up to hold up to 250, Office of Emergency Management spokesman Brent Taylor said.

Utility crews work to restore electricity in Houston, Thursday, July 11, 2024. Officials say about 500,000 customers still won't have electricity into next week as wide outages from Hurricane Beryl persist. (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi)

Utility crews work to restore electricity in Houston, Thursday, July 11, 2024. Officials say about 500,000 customers still won't have electricity into next week as wide outages from Hurricane Beryl persist. (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi)

Utility crews work to restore electricity in Houston, Thursday, July 11, 2024. Officials say about 500,000 customers still won't have electricity into next week as wide outages from Hurricane Beryl persist. (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi)

Utility crews work to restore electricity in Houston, Thursday, July 11, 2024. Officials say about 500,000 customers still won't have electricity into next week as wide outages from Hurricane Beryl persist. (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi)

Utility trucks sit parked at a CenterPoint Energy staging center at the Houston Race Track in Houston, Wednesday, July 10, 2024. Millions of residents lost power after Hurricane Beryl made landfall. (AP Photo/Maria Lysaker)

Houston Mayor John Whitmire, right, speaks with Latongela Johnson at Acres Homes cooling center in Houston, Wednesday, July 10, 2024. Millions of residents lost power after Hurricane Beryl made landfall. (AP Photo/Maria Lysaker)

FILE - Houston residents Janice Taylor, left, and her daughter Janell spend time at Gallery Furniture, which is being used as a temporary shelter, to cool off and charge their electronic devices, in Houston, Tuesday, July 9, 2024. The effects of Hurricane Beryl left most in the area without power. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Houston Mayor John Whitmire speaks at a press conference outside of Acres Homes cooling center in Houston, Wednesday, July 10, 2024. Millions of residents lost power after Hurricane Beryl made landfall. (AP Photo/Maria Lysaker)

Utility polls sit waiting for repair after being damaged by Hurricane Beryl in Houston, Wednesday, July 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Maria Lysaker)

A closed Exxon gas station without power is seen in Houston, Wednesday, July 10, 2024. Nearly 1.3 million homes and businesses in the area remained without power Wednesday after Hurricane Beryl. (AP Photo/Maria Lysaker)

Adila Ebrahimi, center, Yousra Mohammadi, right, and Shukrullah Ibrahimi, left, charge their electronics at a cooling station in Houston, Wednesday, July 10, 2024, after Hurricane Beryl slammed into Texas, knocking out power to millions of homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Maria Lysaker)

Hurricane Beryl's path left down power lines in Acres Homes neighborhood in Houston, on Wednesday, July 10, 2024. ( Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Houston Mayor John Whitmire helps handing out food boxes at Acres Homes cooling center in Houston, Wednesday, July 10, 2024. After Hurricane Beryl slammed into Texas, the storm knocked out power to nearly 3 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Maria Lysaker)

Debra McCarty with Harris County Precent 1 works to distribute food at Lincoln Park in Houston, on Wednesday, July 10, 2024. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

People fill gas cans the day after Hurricane Beryl made landfall nearby Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Freeport, Texas. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Houston residents spend time at Gallery Furniture, which is being used as a temporary shelter, to cool off, have a meal, and charge phones, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Houston. The effects of Hurricane Beryl left most in the area without power. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Houston resident Adriana Guerrero is reflected in a mirror as she spend time at Gallery Furniture, which is being used as a temporary shelter, to cool off and and have a meal, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Houston. The effects of Hurricane Beryl left most in the area without power. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Delray Gooch, standing, talks to mail carrier Jason Phillips as he delivers mail in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl on Wednesday, July 10, 2024, in Houston. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Travis Gamble, left, Tye Love, center, and Chucky Aitch, right, spend time at Gallery Furniture, which is being used as a temporary shelter, to cool off, have a meal, and charge their phones, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Houston. The effects of Hurricane Beryl left most in the area without power. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Employees of Premier Home Improvement remove a tree from the roof of a house in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl in the Homestead neighborhood of Houston on Wednesday, July 10, 2024. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle)

Utility trucks sit parked at a CenterPoint Energy staging center at the Houston Race Track in Houston, Wednesday, July 10, 2024. Millions of residents lost power after Hurricane Beryl made landfall. (AP Photo/Maria Lysaker)

Volunteers hand out water at a distribution station in Houston, Wednesday, July 10, 2024. After Hurricane Beryl slammed into Texas, knocking out power to nearly 3 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Maria Lysaker)

Vehicles line up for a supply distribution at Woodforest Bank Stadium after Hurricane Beryl made its way through the Greater Houston area, in Shenandoah, Wednesday, July 10, 2024. Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management in coordination with the Montgomery County Food Bank distributed water, ice, MREs and other supplies to 1,500 vehicles. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Houston resident Ashley Doyle and her children, Kaysen and Jayce, spend time at Gallery Furniture, which is being used as a temporary shelter, to cool off and and have a meal, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Houston. The effects of Hurricane Beryl left most in the area without power. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Keyla Herrera entertains her eight-month-old daughter, Emma, with a movie on her cell phone next to her husband, Edgar, as they sat inside of the cooling center set up inside of Sunnyside Health and Multi-Service Center on Wednesday, July 10, 2024, after Hurricane Beryl hit the Houston area on Monday. (Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Tree branches that fell during Hurricane Beryl took down power lines and a Jeep in Acres Homes in Houston, on Wednesday, July 10, 2024. ( Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Volunteer Karen Jones, center, helps to hand out supplies at Acres Homes cooling center in Houston, Wednesday, July 10, 2024. After Hurricane Beryl slammed into Texas, knocking out power to nearly 3 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Maria Lysaker)

Houston residents Janice Taylor, left, and her daughter Janell spend time at Gallery Furniture, which is being used as a temporary shelter, to cool off and charge their electronic devices, in Houston, Tuesday, July 9, 2024. The effects of Hurricane Beryl left most in the area without power. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Volunteers help to hand out ice and supplies at Acres Homes cooling center in Houston, Wednesday, July 10, 2024. After Hurricane Beryl slammed into Texas, knocking out power to nearly 3 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Maria Lysaker)

East End residents Laura and Jose Galvan sift through perishable foods that were left outside of a Kroger due to power outages from the recent Hurricane Beryl that made landfall in Houston on Tuesday, July 9, 2024. (Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via AP)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Tyre Nichols screamed for his mother while Memphis police beat him after a traffic stop on Jan. 7, 2023, about a block from where he lived with his parents. The 29-year-old died in a hospital three days later.

In an analysis of what the officers claimed happened on that night, The Associated Press sifted through hundreds of pages of evidence and hours of video from the scene, including officer body cameras. The cameras showed a starkly different scene to that described by the officers.

More than a year and a half after Nichols' death, three former officers are facing a federal criminal trial over the deadly pummeling. That’s in addition to allegations that they offered essentially no help as he slumped on a patrol car and onto the pavement, and claims that they lied or left out critical information to protect themselves from repercussions.

Two other former officers have pleaded guilty and could testify against the remaining three.

The trial will heighten attention on a case that sparked outrage around the world and intensified calls for police reform in the city and the U.S. as a whole.

The three officers have also been charged with second-degree murder in state court, where the other two former officers, Desmond Mills and Emmitt Martin, plan to plead guilty, like they have in federal court. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the Memphis Police Department and Nichols' family has sued the city over his death.

Here is an analysis of how the officers' claims in reports at the time stack up with what video footage shows during four key moments.

Memphis police officers Demetrius Haley, Preston Hemphill and Martin were the first three to encounter Nichols after pulling him over for what they said was reckless driving.

Haley wrote in his response to resistance form that Nichols “ignored all directives” to get out of the car. He wrote Nichols was “swinging his arms” and cursing at the officers. Martin's report claimed Nichols was reaching for one of the officers’ guns.

Footage from police body-worn camera shows the officers immediately yanked Nichols from the vehicle. The officers are swearing, shouting and threatening to shock Nichols with a Taser.

The video shows Nichols being forced onto his knees, while he tries to calmly tell the officers, “I am on the ground.” Nichols is then physically overpowered by the three officers who are using a Taser and pepper spray on him.

Additional Memphis officers Tadarrius Bean and Justin Smith joined the fray after Nichols fled and was caught just blocks from his parents’ home.

Haley, Bean and Smith all described in their response to resistance forms that the officers used “soft hands” techniques to subdue Nichols — Haley during the traffic stop, and Bean and Smith at the scene of the beating.

“Soft hands” is a technique described in Memphis police guidelines as “escort controls, touch pressure points, wrist or arm locks and take down techniques that have a minimum chance of injury.”

The incident report only mentions that officers used chemical agents and a baton against Nichols, omitting the kicks, punches and slaps while his arms were held or restrained.

Multiple videos show an almost three-minute barrage of fists, feet and baton strikes to Nichols’ face, head, front and back as officers restrain him.

Bean, Haley and Smith are charged with acting with “deliberate indifference” while Nichols was on the ground, struggling with his injuries. The indictment, which lodges a number of charges, says the officers “willfully” disregarded Nichols’ medical needs by failing to give him medical care and not telling a police dispatcher and emergency medical personnel that Nichols had been hit repeatedly.

Bean, Haley and Smith have pleaded not guilty.

Smith’s body-worn camera captured him and another officer exchanging a high five steps away from Nichols. On the aerial video, two officers are seen fist-bumping each other.

Meanwhile, Nichols appears to be falling out of consciousness, slumping over and not responding when officers try to pull him upright again.

On body-worn camera from Bean, the officers brag about the assault and laugh, and they speculate that Nichols is high. Nichols’ autopsy later detected only low levels of alcohol and THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, in his system.

On Mills’ body camera, Lt. Dewayne Smith and Mills go to Nichols’ home where he lives with his parents, just blocks from where he is laying bleeding. His parents ask what Nichols is in custody for.

Lt. Smith tells them he was arrested for a DUI and that Nichols was “intoxicated.”

In another interaction, Hemphill tells Nichols’ mother that he fought with officers and another officer tells her that he had “unbelievable strength.” Smith, the former lieutenant, resigned in lieu of being fired, and Hemphill was fired. Neither face criminal charges.

Hemphill later talks to Nichols’ parents at the scene of the initial traffic stop, where his mother, RowVaughn Wells, shares comments of disbelief.

"My son? My son? Not Tyre," Wells said.

Mattise reported from Nashville, Tennessee.

FILE - The image from video released on Jan. 27, 2023, by the City of Memphis, shows Tyre Nichols during a brutal attack by five Memphis police officers on Jan. 7, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn. (City of Memphis via AP, File)

FILE - RowVaughn Wells rests on her husband's shoulder Rodney Wells, the parents of Tyre Nichols, during a news conference after a former Memphis Police Department officer pleaded guilty to civil rights violations in the 2023 fatal beating of their son, Aug. 23, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)

FILE - This combo of images provided by the Memphis, Tenn., Police Department shows, top row from left, officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, and bottom row from left, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith. (Memphis Police Department via AP, File)

FILE - The screen at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans honors Tyre Nichols before an NBA basketball game between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Washington Wizards, Jan. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton, File)