Dallas Police Department had two officers shot at an apartment off Bonita per one source. So far Dallas Police PIOs have not confirmed this information as it is an active incident.
Sources state that the two officers are in “stable condition.”
Officers Shot – SWAT On Scene
Dallas SWAT is on scene and more than twenty units had formed up at a Command Post.
This follow an incident where officers were shot at earlier in the month leading to the discovery of three dead. In November, officers were attacked near the city border with Mesquite.
We hope everyone will join us in saying thank you DFW response community for all their hard work these past few days.
The parent of Other Side Dallas, the George Dealey Leadership Institute Foundation, is asking for your contributions so we can buy gift cards from local shops to say thank you to DFW first responders (police, fire, and EMS) along with their healthcare partners and road crews.
As we get through this storm we know they have given their all for us twenty-four hours a day.
Chief Eddie Garcia came out swinging saying drug houses a detriment to our neighborhoods in a tweet just two days after a Dallas City Council Public Safety committee meeting focused on drug arrests.
Drug houses are a detriment to our city. Today, Dallas SWAT served a warrant at a high risk location. 6 people were arrested for narco. But, it was the 10th time in 3 yrs we’ve hit this location. My message to landlords: Be warned, be responsible or we WILL hold YOU accountable.
On Monday, new Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia halted a resolution to stop arrests for small amounts of marijuana at his very first Public Safety Committee meeting.
A City Council resolution against arrests for less than two ounces of marijuana has been under review for months since Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot began refusing to prosecute those cases.
Drug Houses A Detriment To More Than Neighborhoods
During the meeting Garcia noted, “The real victims were those businesses in that area that have to struggle with drug dealers posting up in front of their business and having a 24-hour weed sale in front of their businesses. That is something that certainly affects our city.”
Dallas Police Monitor Tonya McClary, who runs the Officer of Community Police Oversight, said 6,000 misdemeanor cases last year, including many for small amounts of marijuana, unfairly targeted African Americans. She complained these arrests leave them with harmful criminal records.
Garcia said you can not arrest your way our of crime and that he intends to have a new violent crime plan by April.
Garcia has been on the job for only one week, but faces an uphill battle with three dead this weekend in an apartment shooting. He is also not following in the steps of his predecessor, Reneé Hall, who was cozy with violent criminals leading to her leaving early after it was disclosed.
Tonight three dead in Northeast Dallas after Dallas Police Department officers responded to a reported active shooter.
Dallas Police had been called to the active shooter incident in the 9800 block of Summerwood Circle at 4:30 p.m.
As officers approached the scene, one of their vehicles were hit and they retreated to safety and activated SWAT.
Officers entered the scene after 7:00 p.m. finding two dead women and a dead man at the incident. Per reports, Dallas Police did not fire their weapons.
Three Dead In Northeast Dallas – Hard Start For Eddie Garcia’s Tenure
Chief Garcia was introduced to Dallas in late December after his selection and he has been on the job for less than a week. Reducing violent crime was task number one for the new chief after his predecessor saw crime rates skyrocket.
United States Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson and State Senator Royce West endorsements came down yesterday in the City Council race for D7 and they didn’t go as expected. Rev. Donald Parish Jr. – the Sports Preacher – received their support for his D7 campaign leaving incumbent Adam Bazaldua wondering what happened.
In addition, Mel Renfro and his wife Liz, have agreed to be co-chairs of Parish’s campaign for City Council.
Royce West Endorsements For Parish Jr.
Parish Jr. is also known as the sports preacher is a regular contributor to Dallas ISD programming for African American youth across the city, but particularly in South Dallas and has worked alongside other notable Dallas Cowboys including Greg Ellis.
It is suspected Bazaldua will also lose the support of local police unions after being out front on defunding police programs this summer and standing by Chief Reneé Hall during the Margaret Hunt Hill bridge debacle.
Bazaldua has often been an aggressive voice at city council meetings speaking over colleagues and in open warfare with Mayor Johnson over a host of issues.
Chad West lashes out after he posted on Facebook that he was on the receiving end of “several calls and messages last night from neighbors who experienced 2, 3, 4 and even 6-hour waits at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center yesterday for their COVID19 vaccination appointments.”
Council Member West seemed dismayed at the Mayor, but the entire City Council has been acting as one observer noted “like a bunch of petulant children.”
This local political actist noted “if the Mayor and City Council had to rely on one another for mutual survival, they’d all be done six months ago. Every one of them is more interested in their memo or tweet to score political points than in listening and fixing problems and they are ignoring people with the experience to do help.”
Chad West Lashes Out – In Wrong Direction?
The angry Facebook post came the same day Dallas County reported 1,617 new COVID19 cases and a dozen deaths.
In late January, Dallas County Commissioner’s Court voted 3-0 with two abstentions to prioritize vaccine distribution to certain zip codes leaving black and brown citizens in other areas at the end of the line. An emergency meeting was required after the decision once the Texas Department of State Health Services reminded Dallas County of their obligations under their hub contract to serve everyone.
Dallas Police Department Senior Corporal Keith Huber was arrested for Family Violence Assault – Bodily Injury. He was transported to the Waxahachie Jail.
Keith Huber photo from Waxahachie Jail. A previous picture incorrectly listed Stephen Vineyard who is subject of a second story forthcoming.
Senior Corporal Huber has been with the department for nearly two decades – coming on the force in May 2002.
Huber was also charged with assault causing bodily injury of a family member in October 2016 for a September 2016 incident. Huber turned himself into the Ellis County Sheriff’s Department on Friday in connection with that incident. Those charges were dismissed in November 2018.
Keith Huber – Not Only Officer With Incidents
Dallas Police have suffered numerous officers acting poorly in the past year.
Additionally, a DPD Officer arrested in Fort Worth has an interesting history. Dallas police officer, Senior Corporal Daniel Collins, was arrested Thursday on a charge of transportation of child pornography, officials said. According to his Facebook page he appears to also be a self avowed “ISIS hunter.”
Another officer, Brian Deininger, continues to lead field sobriety training despite his own issues with alcohol impairment behind the wheel.
The Business and Community Lenders nonprofit is accused of threatening a local nonprofit with withdrawing a grant made by the City of Dallas when the grantee asked process questions that were not identified in the initial proposal submission. In the taped conversation the Director of Entrepreneurship, Brian K Marhshall, is heard saying “if you don’t stop asking questions we will just withdraw the grant.” (The conversation provided to Other Side Dallas has gone to a notary for transcription for legal purposes.)
In November, the City of Dallas advertised the B.U.I.L.D Small Business Grant Program. As of late December applicants had not heard from city staff.
As the city advertised, B.U.I.L.D. (Broaden Urban Investments to Leverage Dallas) launched the B.U.I.L.D Small Business Grant Program to assist small businesses impacted by the economic downturn caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic. The program will provide businesses in the city of Dallas that have fewer than nine employees, or a 2019 payroll of less than $250,000, with a one-time grant of up to $3,000.
As we reported in the middle of January, several businesses expressed concern about issues with the grant. Their complaints ranged from the city missing its own deadline of late December notifications and not also changing standards after the application period.
BUILD Grantees Not Only Ones Concerned
In addition to the threats and changing standards, it is not clear who is funding this program. The City of Dallas who advertised the program has denied funding the program and referred the issue to JP Morgan Chase. Their media relations staff say they did not fund this program either.
Further, City of Dallas staff stated they had no responsive documents when asked about how BUILD grantees’ applications were scored and decisions made, that the decisions were for funding, etc.
Dr. Eric Anthony Johnson, Director of Economic Development for the City of Dallas has refused to respond to numerous requests for comment about his BUILD grantees program. Additionally, Tennell Atkins, Chairman of the City Council Economic Development Committee has refused multiple requests also.
As reported on Townview Magnet‘s news page, Dallas Independent School District is holding a Learning Loss Town Hall this Thursday night, January 21, 2021 to discuss district efforts to mitigate the loss of learning by students hit hard by the pandemic.
After engaging with more than 10,000 stakeholders and getting feedback from teachers and campus leaders through multiple virtual community meetings, Dallas ISD is proposing three calendar models that would provide more learning time for the students that need it the most.
Dallas ISD started exploring the possibility of potentially adding learning time for certain students after data showed the devastating impact the pandemic could have on students. Earlier this year, Dallas ISD Trustees voted to lower academic standards for passing. It appears they are not reversing course.
Dallas ISD officials wrote more than 10,000 parents, teachers and community members responded to a survey asking for input, and numerous virtual forums solicited input from campus staff, district leaders and community stakeholders.
In addition to COVID19, district officials are hampered by Austin directives contrary to local needs.
Learning Loss Town Hall Registration
Do you have questions about Dallas ISD’s plans to mitigate learning loss?
Dallas ISD leadership will be on the call at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, January 21, in a TeleTown Hall meeting to discuss the district’s efforts to mitigate learning loss by adding learning time for students who have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID19 pandemic.
Dallas ISD families will receive a call to participate, but if you want to make sure you are on the call list, register here.
NOTE: Registration ends three hours before the start of the meeting.
It was attacked by County Judge Clay Jenkins as potentially illegal and now Texas has agreed.
In a strongly worded email to Commissioners, Texas health officials said, “While we ask hub providers to ensure the vaccine reaches the hardest-hit areas and populations, solely vaccinating people who live in those areas is not in line with the agreement to be a hub provider,” wrote Imelda Garcia, an associate commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services.
She continues, “If Dallas County is unable to meet these expectations, we will be forced to reduce the weekly vaccine allocation … and no longer consider it a hub provider.”
In addition to the state action at least two attorneys were preparing motions to stop the new vaccine rollout.
COVID19 Politics At 1500 Marilla
Meanwhile, Mayor Eric Johnson sent a terse memo to City Manager TC Broadnax regarding city vaccination rollout and individual council members seeking vaccine registration hubs.
The Mayor’s memo was immediately attacked as another COVID19 politics power grab by Adam Bazaldua in both personal posts and posts to the Other Side DallasFacebook group.
The two City Council colleagues have been described by another City Council member as “the two boys in the sandbox who can’t get along because neither gets enough attention” from their mother.
“They both just complain about the other and neither does his homework,” the source said.
