There were four unrelated Friday night shootings in approximately twenty-three minutes that Dallas Police responded. The result is two people dead and two more injured.
Friday Night Shootings – A Reflection Of Larger Trend
Dallas has been a hotbed of crime all year long, prior to COVID19 becoming a contributing factor.
Earlier in the year members of City Council cut police overtime for arts and environmental projects despite Dallas’s murder and violent crime rates. Locally Dallas is on pace for more murders this year than last which broke local records.
Despite pledging to serve the remainder of 2020, her resignation was announced earlier today with Lonzo Anderson, appointed Interim Chief of Police starting December 15, 2020.
City officials from the Mayor’s Office and City Manager’s Office continue to avoid questions about her tenure or the most recent allegations.
Reneé Hall Runs Away Again
Hall has been under heavy criticism since it was learned she was not providing proper supervision to officers during the June Gorge Floyd protests and lied about the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge events both at the time and later in official After Action Reports.
Hall’s resignation has led to thirty-six applicants for the Chief of Police position.
City Manager T.C. Broadnax invited the group of seven candidates chosen from a pool of thirty-six applicants from across the U.S. The candidates named finalists are:
Albert Martinez – Director of Security for Dallas Catholic Dioceses/Former DPD Deputy Chief
Avery Moore – Assistant Police Chief, Dallas Police Department
Eddie Garcia – Chief of Police, San Jose, California
Jeff Spivey – Chief of Police, City of Irving, Texas
Malik Aziz – Major, Dallas Police Department
Reuben Ramirez – Deputy Chief, Dallas Police Department
RaShall Brackney – Chief of Police, Charlottesville, Virginia
Interviews between candidates and council members will be pre-recorded and published on the city’s social media and cable TV next week.
An additional fifty-five organizations ranging from police unions to neighborhood nonprofits will participate in stakeholder panel interviews with the candidates beginning December 15, 2020.
Broadnax says he expects to select and appoint the next chief before the end of the year.
Mayor Johnson has recently emphasized public safety including his state of the city address: “We need more robust law enforcement strategies,” Johnson said in his speech at Fair Park, in South Dallas. “The violent crime reduction plan that I asked for last year simply has not worked. … It is my expectation that whoever becomes the next police chief will be accountable to you and will work with you to make our city safer.”
Other Side Dallas appreciates its readers, but we want you to continue to help us inform the larger Dallas community about problems within our borders.
We all know Dallas can be a culture of backroom handshakes and certain neighborhoods making policy for their neighbors less well off. Our goal remains to have a debate about these issues and require accountability and transparency from local city, county, and school officials. These issues may be about the Dallas City Council, Dallas Police, or Dallas Independent School District.
Contact Other Side Dallas’ Writing Team
Our writing team uses ProtonMail for secure messaging with those providing information to OSD. Email us at OtherSideDallas [at] protonmail.com. We will get back in touch as soon as we can.
You can provide details about issues you are aware of without fear we will make whistleblowers public. We intend to write about corruption in city hall and force local officials to be accountable to their citizens.
The City of Dallas is launching a survey to understand city fines impact on our community and has launched a community survey to better understand their important to residents. They are seeking how fines, imposed fees and financial penalties impact community members.
The survey is part of the City’s efforts to address the problem of fines and fees as a means of revenue. The City of Dallas was selected to join the inaugural class of leaders in the Cities & Counties for Fine and Fee Justice network earlier this year.
The network, established by PolicyLink, the San Francisco Financial Justice Project, and the Fines and Fees Justice Center, was established to unite local places committed to meaningful fine and fee reform, that works better for people and for government.
This work is part of a growing national movement recognizing the disproportionate fines and fees have on people of color and people who are struggling to make ends meet. For residents living on low incomes, a cascade of consequences sets in when they cannot pay: their debt can grow, their driver’s license can be suspended, their credit score goes down, and their employment and economic mobility opportunities are diminished.
The survey seems aimed at helping those who break the law face no consequences and appears to be part of a larger “Get Out Of Jail Free” system that is happening in Dallas and continuing to promote a social justice focus from the City Council rather than protection of the community.
Questions included are below and in some cases do not seem to relate to city fines impact, but they appear to justify larger social justice goals.
The questions above also seem to focus on student debt and car loans – again necessitating the question – does the City of Dallas have fines for purposes of a stick to encourage compliance or are we focused on elimanting any hardship citizens may find.
City Fines Impact Beyond The City Limits
“Since being accepted into the cohort, City staff across multiple departments and external partners have been working diligently to evaluate and assess our current fines and fees structure,” said Chief of Equity and Inclusion Liz Cedillo-Pereira. “Community feedback from the survey is essential and will help us develop a strategy to equitably address fines and fees”
The city fines impact survey is available in English and Spanish and is open to the public until December 18. It can be found here.
In May 2020, the partners announced ten jurisdictions selected to join the network to pursue bold, innovative solutions to reform unjust fines and fees over the course of 18 months. Dallas joins Allegheny County, PA, Chicago, IL, Durham, NC, Philadelphia, PA, Providence, RI, Sacramento, CA, Seattle/King County, WA, Shelby County, TN, and St. Paul, MN.
The Laura Bush Foundation gave Dallas ISD families a little more to be thankful for. The foundation granted $500,000 to the school district for library materials.
The pre-Thanksgiving break grant allows Dallas ISD to both serve schools hit hard by last year’s tornado and also support schools in South Dallas also.
The donation is meant to help respond to last year’s major disaster. Meanwhile Dallas County and Dallas ISD are still responding to this year’s COVID19 pandemic. The most recent numbers show almost 1700 cases across Dallas ISD.
Laura Bush – Continuing To Lead At Home
The former First Lady has been a regular supporter of Dallas ISD, despite former colleagues at the Texas Education Agency withholding dollars from federal CARES Act funds for local school districts.
County Judge Clay Jenkins issued a written statement saying in part: “The improving numbers, while early, are an indication that residents are renewing their strength and engaging in shared sacrifice and patriotism to keep our community and our country strong until such time as the vaccine can be widely distributed and have its effect.”
Dallas County recently announced it is counting only positive antigen tests – also known as rapid tests – as probable cases. In other notifications of results, antibody and “household” results were included.
1675 New COVID19
November Dallas County hit 1500 daily cases. These rising cases are also contributing to the nearly 1600 in Dallas Independent School District. In early November, that number was less than 800.
The rising numbers do not appear to be stopping multiple public events where attendees forgo masks though meaning numbers will continue to rise.
An alleged Dallas serial killer arrested in Denton is linked to a shooting there. The Dallas police department announced they had arrested possible serial killer in connection to shootings in Dallas, Celina, Frisco, Prosper, and Denton.
Dallas Serial Killer Arrested Is Jeremy Harris
Harris, who police have described as an alleged “serial killer”, is accused of four murders in North Texas. The include the death of Southern Methodist University (SMU) student Jaden Urrea.
Jeremy Harris, who is 31, is also linked to at least four deaths — three in Dallas and one in Celina — after his arrest earlier this week. He was taken into custody after police found a victim, 60-year-old Blair Carter, dead inside a burning home in Celina on Wednesday.
Now, Harris has been charged with three other murders in Dallas, which police described as random killings.
Harris is being held in the Collin County Jail, and his bail is set at $3 million with four murder charges pending.
Harris may be linked to the shooting of two parents picking up their child earlier this week.
Two parents were shot Sunday night – victims of another reckless gun crime after an accident in 5900 block of Forest Lane in North Dallas. They were on their way to pick up their two year old child from a childcare provider per Dallas Police.
The parents are a 32-year-old man and a 29-year-old woman. They got into a car accident at around 9 p.m. near the Dallas North Tollway. The couple was on the way to their childcare provider.
The driver of the second vehicle, a 20-year-old man, shot the couple, police said. He remains at-large.
Two Parents Shot Today – Violent Crime, Murder Well Up Over 2019
There were 219 homicides in Dallas in all of 2019. The Dallas Police Department dashboard currently lists 233 as of November 16, 2020 with 45 days left in November.
Earlier this year the Dallas City Council voted to defund Dallas Police Department’s overtime budget removing officers from the street and reprogramming those dollars into bike lanes and solar power systems.
Additionally, Dallas Police officers have been openly attacked and Community Police Oversight Board appointees have taken to vigilantism.
Mark Cuban Heroes Basketball Center is providing Thanksgiving meals for 400 in South Dallas at the Mark Cuban Heroes Basketball Center. This will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
After a successful kick off last month, the Center Table Fall Harvest series – presented by The Mark Cuban Foundation, The Dirk Nowitzki Foundation, The Heroes Foundation and North Texas Food Bank – will continue Thursday, November 19, from 9 am-noon at the Mark Cuban Heroes Basketball Center. The center is located at 1800 Bonnie View Road, Dallas, TX 75216.
With many families facing tough times, the drive-up event will offer free food boxes for 400 families. The event is open to people who reside in the surrounding neighborhoods of the Mark Cuban Heroes Basketball Center including Cedar Crest, south Oak Cliff, southern Dallas County and Joppa.
Food boxes are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis to 400 families. Pre-registration is not required. Volunteers and staff from the Mark Cuban Heroes Basketball Center will wear masks and gloves and will practice social distancing.
In addition, as part of the Center Table Fall Harvest efforts, free chef-prepared meals for four will be delivered to senior citizens and grandparents in the Center’s surrounding neighborhoods in advance of Thanksgiving week (November 21-23). Made by The Bearded Chef and Chef Joslyn of Sankofa, the meal packs include a turkey, two sides, dessert and tea. Also, free meal packs for homeless high school and college students will be delivered to schools or available for pick up.
“The true heroes are all of our neighbors who have been impacted by the pandemic. Many of them are and have been essential workers. They are hardworking women and men who have and continue to make significant sacrifices and contributions to our city and society. And to that end, we owe them a debt of gratitude. This is one way to express our gratitude,” said Trina Terrell-Andrews, CEO of the Mark Cuban Heroes Basketball Center. “While we all are experiencing a challenging season, we must do all we can to support one another.”
Center Table Fall Harvest will continue in December (date forthcoming).
Mark Cuban Heroes Basketball Center
The Mark Cuban Heroes Basketball Center is a multi-purpose facility for neighborhood youth and families providing sports and leadership programs.
Dallas ISD failing to educate black and brown students is the headline in new reports showing students can not read on grade level. At the upcoming Dallas ISD Board of Trustees meeting staff plans to ask trustees to lower goal standards for students in the district.
Administrators recommended that trustees reduce goals to be “more realistic” for the current academic year after new testing data showed significant drops.
Tests results from Dallas ISD’s Measurement of Academic Progress, or MAP, test, have had all the hallmarks of a district failing its students.
Current goals for the 2020-2021 school year expected four out of every nine third grade students would meet standards for third grade math. That is less than fifty percent of third graders would meet third grade math standards.
Currently just over ten percent of third graders could meet standards for third grade math. The staff requested goal is to double that number by end of year to roughly one in four students meeting minimum math standards.
On the reading side, the benchmark was for 42% of third grade students to be able to read at level. Only one third of students are able to hit this goal currently.
Dallas ISD Administration wants to revise both of these goal numbers down while simultaneously talking about the need for an educated workforce to attact international companies ot bring jobs to Dallas.
Additionally, it is unclear what the real assessment is as several students never returned to campus so it is unclear what the level would be if full attendance had been achieved.
Students in Dallas ISD Failing…Again
The board also discussed goals for Superintendent Michael Hinojosa at Thursday’s board briefing. Part of the superintendent’s contract allows trustees to set seven performance incentive goals, with a potential reward of $20,000 for meeting each goal.
Since Hinojosa rejoined the district as its leader in 2015, he has not achieved his incentive goals, Micciche said. The board has until Nov. 30 to set these incentives, but Hinojosa said he’d be willing to waive that timeline if trustees wanted more time to deliberate on the matter.
