Breaking Dallas News

In many ways the Dallas Police Department reflects departments across the country. The public has already expressed criticism on how police departments across the US handled the George Floyd protests. Now, the Dallas Public Safety Committee will review Dallas Police Department’s actions during the mass hysteria. DPD’s Official After Action report can be found here.

The 85 page After Action report details the other side of the protest. It includes topics such as how the police planned for the protest, a logistics view on equipment use, a detailed timeline of when the police responded to incidents and finally a way they can improve and “Move Forward”.

Unfortunately the Dallas Police Department still maintains their lie about what truly happened at Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. Which is expected, no one, especially Police Chief Reneé Hall, wants to admit they were wrong. At least not verbally.

Dallas Police Department mistakes

Here are some things the Dallas Police Department admits they can improve on.

Knowing when and when not to take action should be something to clarify with officers. Apparently that never happened. According to page 22 of the report “Operational Plans for May 29 and 30 did not list the rules of engagement.”

Communications was also an issue. One sergeant stated, “The communication was terrible. During detail, officers were given clear communication about what was expected. When the protesters moved and went on the bridge, the communication went out the window.” As a result, DPD plans to upgrade to 800MHz radio communications in order to more effectively inform every officer on the rules of engagement (which should have been told before hand).

Additionally General Orders will be modified to only allow the use of less lethal tools (Stingers, OC spray, C.S. gas, etc.) when there is an immediate danger of injury to person or damage to property, and only if approved by the Chief of Police.

Of course, if a specific individual is seen to be violating the zero tolerance rule, officers are still allowed to fire without approval. At least now less lethal tools are not allowed to be used on peaceful crowds anymore (like they were used on the bridge).

Lastly the Dallas Police Department hopes to buy 500 new body worn cameras in order to better review situations in future After Action Reports.

Despite this mostly being about the mistakes of the DPD, there is one thing to credit them on. The addition of a Duty to Intervene. Althought they claim it was always there, now it is specifically stated in the oath, and encouraged, to intervene if another officer abuses their power. Its not the solution to the Blue Wall of Silence, but its a start.

Higher taxes due per the new budget. The Dallas City Manager has released the 2020-2021 budget and it raises taxes by %5+ despite funding Visit Dallas at more than $25M. Other Side Dallas will continue to update.

Higher Taxes Due Now – Change In City Hall and Dallas Police Not Budgeted

Mayor Eric Johnson had suggested a rolling descrease in salaries with city employees making the most money taking the biggest salary hits. The Mayor’s idea does not seem to have made its way into the financial document.

The City Manager’s Office is budgeted an additional $267000 over the previous budget – or almost 10%.

Another major note from the budget is the fact the Dallas Police Department is not being defunded in any way. In fact, despite the multiple injuries from less lethal weapons the Dallas Police appears to be getting more of those dollars. We are waiting for statements from City Council Members at the forefront of the Defund movement.

Dallas Police have a long history of improperly using weapons including less lethal weapons on and off duty. This includes at the George Floyd protests. Community Police Oversight Board member Jose Rivas inquired of Chief Reneé Hall about her use of less lethal force during the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge event where tear gas was deployed despite her assurances it was not.

Budget: Eviction Protections vs. Homeowner Protections

The Executive Summary of the budget states that it will “alleviate financial hardship through an eviction diversion program that connects tenants facing eviction to resources ranging from housing assistance and direct legal services to financial education” yet it is unclear how higher taxes on landlords will make evictions less likely.

Revenue Predictions

It is not clear what basis the City Manager’s Office is using, but the revenue statement says the expect a sales tax revenue rebound in for the year immediately following this budget. This is despite a one third drop in GDP in the second quarter of Calendar Year 2020 nationally.

Additionally, local employer American Airlines warned of 25000 potential furloughs In July and travel is down due to COVID19.

Do not expect much from the Visit Dallas contract either. The proposed budget notes that “HOT (Hotel and Occupancy) revenues are historically volatile; therefore, actual collections may differ significantly from the budgeted amount.” Convention and Event services are budgeted at $85M despite events being forbidden by local COVID19 restrictions on large gatherings.

Higher Taxes Due And Few Services

The full budget can be seen here and Dallas City Manager TC Broadnax’s promotional video for the tax increase is below.

In a Thursday Facebook broadcast, the Texas Ram Club including their Event Chair Nathan Abrams indicated they were still confused about how their Back The Blue event on Sunday, August 2, 2020 was misunderstood at the predominantly African American Friendship West Baptist Church.

They then defended the event by stating Pastor Dr. Frederick Douglas Haynes, III misrepresented whether or not they could be there after stating they were late to the “pit stop” they had scheduled and agreed to for the Sunday car parade.

It is not clear if the group made this broadcast in order to respond to media stories, including ours, about the event, but they complain throughout the video about “communities” who are agitating to make this story bigger. They also make reference to unconfirmed reports that George Floyd had fentanyl in his system at the time of the arrest and that is the reason for his death. It is unclear what medical experience Nathan Abrams has other than an oblique reference to his brother’s “medical work” in the US Army.

Texas Ram Club

Nathan Abrams, the Texas Ram Club Event Chairman, admitted in the broadcast that the event “was a cluster.” He also admitted that Friendship West Baptist Church had denied the Texas Ram Club ‘invitation’ to be the eastern pit stop for the event along with three other locations.

Abrams in the video also says his changing accounts of events happened because “the information I thought I knew was different.”

The full video is below. We have reached out to Nathan Abrams multiple times and he has yet to respond.