What happens when those idiot tree people top the trees is a massive regrowth of numerous, spindly, weakly attached branches. You are then left with even more of a storm hazard than you had to begin with. And an eyesore, to boot!

There is not ONE good reason to do that to a tree. As a matter of fact, each and every reason that a tree guy will give you can be refuted by fact and science.

The proper way to deal with your trees is to clean up the broken branches by making the appropriate cuts to the branch collar. Then the tree can be THINNED by removing excessive inward growing or crossing branches. Thus, much of the mass of the crown will be eliminated, reducing the chances of wind damage. You do not need to reduce the height at all.

Take a look at the attached image. It's easy to see why topped trees become storm problems the very first year after the pruning. Your crape myrtles will be primed to take another hit, and with all of that 'sail effect' at the very top, the damage will not be miner.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1259502}}

Remove dead and crossing branches, and any growth that is smaller than a pencil in diameter.