DPA President Mata has been cleared by a grand jury. They have decided not to indict Dallas Police Association President Mike Mata on a charge of tampering with evidence in the September 2018 Botham Jean murder investigation.
DPA President Mata and The Botham Jean/Amanda Guyger Case
The issue in question related to Mata’s actions during the investigation of the Botham Jean murder. Immediately after the shooting, Mata asked that a dash cam be turned off while talking to then-Officer Amber Guyger in a patrol car outside the apartment where it happened.
Mata attorney Robert Rodgers said in a statement, “It is a tremendous relief that things like the constitution, law and facts still matter. Mike Mata did absolutely nothing wrong in protecting an officer’s rights.”
During the Amber Guyger murder trial, prosecutors used security camera video to suggest the Dallas Police Association acted improperly when Mata arrived on the scene after the shooting. He is seen leaning into a patrol car Guyger was sitting in the back of and told another officer to turn off a dash cam while Guyger was on the phone with her attorney.
The Texas Fraternal Order Of Police President Steve Stribley said in a statement back in October 2019, they support Mata, saying he responded to the Guyger shooting in his capacity as President of the Dallas Police Association and he had a legal responsibility to request recording devices in a squad car to be turned off as Guyger was going to talk to her attorney on the phone.
The chef behind the chef has died of COVID19. Luis Dominguez, a career chef who lived in Dallas the past two decades, died from COVID19 last week after spending nearly three weeks in the hospital and almost a week on a ventilator. He is the latest victim of Dallas COVID19 casualties.
He was from Veracruz, Mexico and is a sad example of both the disproportionate effects of COVID9 on the Hispanic community and the foundational nature of immigrant labor and entrepreneurship on our local economy.
The chef, described as hard-working and reliable in his roles at more than a half-dozen kitchens in Dallas, had been working most recently as executive sous chef at HG Sply Co. in Dallas. Dominguez was 38.
The Chef Behind The Chef…At Smoke, HG Sply Co., More…
Luis Dominguez came to Dallas with his cousin Eric Dominguez. They started as dishwashers at the Wyndham Hotel. He went on to work at Cosmo Rouge, Hattie’s, as a line cook at Tillman’s Bishop Arts.
He was also recruited into the kitchen at the NYLO, and from there, Smoke, and HG Sply Co.
Dominguez is survived by his wife; his parents, Jesus Dominguez Mata and Josefa Garrido Andrade; and siblings Jesus Dominguez and Jessica Dominguez.
The STAAR scheduled tests are on for the 20-21 school year, but Governor Greg Abbott announced that the grade promotion requirement related to the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) test has been waived. This waiver for tests gives to fifth and eighth graders is only for the upcoming school year.
Typically, school systems must take into account a student’s score on the STAAR test to determine whether the student can be promoted to the next grade level. The traditional A-F rating system will remain in place, albeit with certain adjustments due to COVID19.
Students enrolled in grades 5 and 8 are required to re-take a STAAR test late in the school year, and sometimes again in the summer, if they do not meet grade level when taken during the spring. With this waiver, there will only be one administration of the STAAR grades 5 and 8 mathematics and reading assessments for the 2020–21 school year. The test will be administered in May to coincide with the administration of other STAAR grades 3-8 assessments.
“As always, our goal is to provide a high quality education for every Texas student,” said Governor Abbott. “This will be a uniquely challenging school year, therefore, this year is about providing students every opportunity to overcome the disruptions caused by COVID-19. By waiving these promotion requirements, we are providing greater flexibility for students and teachers, while at the same time ensuring that Texas students continue to receive a great education — which we will continue to measure with high quality assessments.”
Some will argue with Abbott’s assertion that STAAR provides a “high quality assessment.” There are vast differences between scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress test and the Texas STAAR testing bringing into question the test’s overall reliability and validity.
“Parents deserve to know how well their children have learned grade level knowledge and skills in reading and math, especially in a time when education has been substantially disrupted,” said Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath. “And educators use this valuable information to make adjustments to support students the following year. But there is no benefit to our children by requiring them to repeat a year based on a single test score given the disruptions of COVID, so we are waiving the grade promotion requirements from STAAR this year for our students.”
If the test can be exempted in the 2020-2021 school year the natural follow up question is why not do away with it altogether as a promotion mechanism? Governor Abbott and Mike Morath seem to want it both ways – they want the expensive test – but are not using its findings due to the “challenging school year.”
The new standard may offer Dallas ISD Calendar some added flexibility if the focus is not on high stakes testing. Locally though it brings into question, the Dallas Texas Excellence Initiative which ties teacher salaries to test scores in part.
Lori Kirkpatrick has several webpages about TEI on her website which may provide useful information opposing Dallas ISD’s viewpoint.
STAAR Scheduled Dates
All of the information on STAAR Testing dates is available via the Texas Education Agency website or below.
An Opening Day warning for schools? Tonight’s Baltimore versus Miami Opening Day game for the Miami Marlins has been cancelled. How does this relate to the Dallas ISD Calendar? Quarantine cleaning.
This weekend fourteen players and two coaches from the Miami Marlins developed positive tests for COVID19 while playing in Philadelphia. If sixteen adults out of forty can get COVID19 while sequestered from other community members after testing negative prior to the series there is either a cleaning issue or community spread.
While possible, the former seems unlikely, as Major League Baseball is performing daily COVID19 screenings and has access to the best envornmental cleaning companies in the world. That would leave community spread as the primary culprit due to a person or persons not adhering to the strict guidelines for maintaining social distancing and these are adults. How will schools mandate safe practices of children?
As we have noted, COVID19 cases are surging, but Dallas ISD Trustees seem confident that they have the answers with their latest schedule.
Opening Day Warning For Schools
While the Dallas ISD Calendar is currently ready to go for the 20-21 school year, administration has also put out guidelines for entrance into schools on a daily basis.
Some school observers have questioned whether or not this is realistic and will remain reality once the school year begins.
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.”
Senior Corporal Daniel Collins was arrested by Homeland Security Investigations and was booked into the Tarrant County Jail.
Collins has worked with the Dallas Police Department since July 2007 and was assigned to the auto theft unit.
Dallas police officials say Collins is on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal affairs administrative investigation.
Another DPD Officer Arrested
This is another officer being arrested in Tarrant County giving rise to the question why Dallas does not require its employees to be part of the community they are employed to serve.
His Facebook page has references to being both an ISIS Hunter and a photo of an officer caring for a child. These images of being a protector when possibly being a danger to children are disturbing on multiple levels.
The new Dallas ISD Calendar is here. As a follow up to the previous story on Wednesday. The Board of Trustees has finally spoken on its propositions. The Dallas ISD calendar does have a late June finish, among other things.
Although not explicitly stated, it’s suggested that the first few weeks of school will be online. As explained by the speaker, the main purpose expressed for the late start is to refine and polish online education.
“So its not about health, its not about safety, its not about getting the schools ready for a more safe environment, its about perfecting virtual instruction.” noted Trustee, Dustin Marshall.
The board also discussed eliminating breaks in order to finish the Dallas ISD calendar as usual. However, the board opted to extend to a June 18 finish rather than to shorten breaks. The only break that was cut was Fair days, due to the State Fair being cancelled.
On the contrary one new holiday was added, November 3, also known as election day. Schools act as a place to vote on that day. And in order to keep students and teachers away from potentially infected voters, election day will now be a holiday.
Others things to note:
Administrators will get 14 hours of professional development for virtual learning
Teachers will get 15-18 hours of training for virtual learning
Up to 8 of the first few weeks might be online learning only
Grading periods last 9 weeks instead of 6
5 professional development days for will be replaced for instructional time.
There are currently multiple accounts of what happened on the bridge from Chief Hall’s statements at the time, City Council Members who have backed her account, and citizen protestors who suffered the attack. A question exists about decision making and who had authority to make decisions. This includes why Lt. Brian Payne, an officer previously arrested in Ft. Worth for a road rage incident, was in charge of arrests on the bridge that night.
Another, bigger, question though is why is does this poor decision making continue to pervade the City of Dallas and its police department. Example? Lieutenant Brian William Deininger.
Deininger is currently assigned to teach the Standard Field Sobriety Testing program at the Dallas Police Department Academy. The problem with that is he was found unresponsive in his vehicle less than a year ago with multiple open containers of beer, not remembering how he got there, and denying medical any relevant medical history.
Granted mistakes happen to all of us and persons are innocent until convicted, but aren’t officers supposed to be held to a higher standard given the position they are placed in daily?
According to one police officer we spoke with, Deininger is an example of the problems with DPD right now.
DPD requires you, as a Dallas Police Officer, to be cooperative in any investigation by any other agency, especially if you’re a suspect. While Irving Police Department may have been doing him a favor or “helping him out” as this commander suggests by charging him with Public Intoxication and not Driving While Intoxicated, it is clear Deininger was not fully cooperative.
The officer continues “Brian is most certainly asking for preferential treatment when they’re asking him to preform SFST’s. Since he refused and it’s on camera that he refused he should have been terminated.” It is unclear why the Internal Affairs Division did not take further action, but both officers and suspects have complained about the IAD complaint process.
After watching the video, it seems clear Deininger is asking for preferential treatment saying he would handle it any way the officer wanted to handle it. He knows the procedure that should be followed – though he may have been too intoxicated to follow it.
DPD Lt. Brian Deininger
This was not Deininger’s first brush with other law enforcement though. In 2011 he was a suspect in a domestic violence case. It is unclear if Dallas’ thin blue line assisted in the choking case in the 2800 block of McKinney Avenue, but charges were dropped when the victim chose not to press charges – common in domestic violence cases.
The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge incident may seem like an isolated case, but it appears DPD has an ongoing problem both recruiting officers and maintaining their understanding of laws and regulations that apply to them. They clearly can pass tests administered by the state, but can they follow common sense and make good decisions while on the beat?
The George Floyd Protests are exposing issues not only in May and June 2020, but a longer record of problems within the department that go beyond a singular event or police chief. The question is will Reneé Hall stay defensive about her command tenure or will she work to correct these problems that are evident for everyone to see.
Dallas Police Department discipline is clearly lacking.
A leaked copy of the After Action Report made its way to Central Track this morning. While it is a draft, it represents an ongoing lack of discipline in the City of Dallas and the Police Department.
In a statement to Central Track from City Manager TC Broadnax and Police Chief Renee Hall they said, “The City Manager’s Office and DPD will continue to be transparent and thorough to avoid misinformation.“
The statement itself is concerning because they do not reflect on the fact that Chief Hall states no tear gas (CS) was used on the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. She lied to City Council previously and the City Manager stood with his employee in a contentious City Council meeting in June.
The lies from that night were amplified by Council Member Omar Narvaez.
We think DMagazine misspelled “lie.”It appears “progressive” stalwart Omar Narvaez stands with Dallas Police Department over peaceful protestors. Why?
Dallas Police Department Discipline Issues Ongoing
Several issues exist with this report. One major issue from the “draft” report is why was a lieutenant was running the scene? Remember, Chief Hall was “kicking back” during police operations and did not take command of the incident in any way.
Chief Hall’s lack of involvement left a lieutenant in charge of the operation.
Lieutenant Brian Payne is listed as the person running the arrest operation on the bridge. What isn’t listed is a report from two Dallas Police employees that this is the same Brian Payne who was arrested in the Fort Worth area approximately a decade ago after a road rage incident over a Walmart parking space. Was this the right person to run this operation given his history of poor anger management?
Congratulations to Central Track. Like our frequent reports on Dallas Police here and here among others, we are hoping shining a little light on an otherwise toxic department might help clean it out.
Dallas Police Department’s Public Information Officers have not responded to emails requesting comment.
The 20-21 school year is about to get longer per reports. The Dallas Independent School District (DISD) school board will vote Thursday on a new Dallas ISD calendar that could push the end of the school year to mid-June.
Under the proposal, classes would begin three weeks later than scheduled on September 8. And the last day of school would move back three weeks as well — from May 28 to June 18.
The DISD plans to release a detailed back-to-school plan this week. It will include the precautions the district plans to take when students return to campus, but that may not be enough for some campus educators.
“I have kidney disease and I have a breathing condition, asthma…” said educator Ronny Swank.
A military veteran who teaches middle school, Swank said his dream is to be back in the classroom. “But, I’m so scared, sir, to go back under bad conditions,” he said. “I made my wife a promise that when I walk in that classroom, if I don’t feel safe, I am simply going to walk out.”
20-21 School Year
The current calendar has school opening August 17, but a Dallas ISD Trustees meeting Thursday will decide if the open will be moved back past Labor Day, September 8.
News reports have Superintendent Michael Hinojosa anticipating all campuses re-opened on that date with teachers on campus “unless the situation keeps getting worse.” Given Texas Education Agency statements funding for pupil attendance this may be related to both annual school funding and the push for the 2020 bond package.
Michael Hinojosa Plans For On Campus Learning At Start Of 20-21 School Year
He was one of the primary voices that kept schools from closing in the spring until the middle of Spring Break which resulted in a handful of COVID19 infections being passed at the school level.
Dallas is a medical hot zone. That is per a White House report obtained by Center for Public Integrity which says Texas should continue to mandate masks, keep bars closed, decrease indoor dining to 25% capacity and limit social gatherings to 10 people or fewer in counties with rising COVID-19 positivity rates.
The report dated July 14 shows eighteen states currently in what the task force calls the “red zone” for cases. This means there were more than 100 new COVID-19 cases for every 100,000 people in a given state during the second week in July.
Eleven states are in that same “red zone” for test positivity, the level a state reaches when higher than 10% of those getting tested are testing positive. Texas is in both.
Ten total states across the country are in both “red zones,” mainly across the south. They include:
Alabama
Arizona
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Louisiana
Mississippi
Nevada
South Carolina
Texas
In the week before July 14, Texas was reporting nearly double the number of new cases compared to the national average, at 206 new cases to the U.S.’s 119 per 100,000 people. The state’s positivity rate for the same week was 20.6%, according to the report. Additionally, cases were starting in child care settings.
Over the course of the three weeks before July 14, Harris, Dallas and Bexar counties had the highest number of new cases out of the state’s 254 counties, with the three accounting for 35% of the total new cases in Texas, the report shows.
“Hot Zone” counties
Nearly half of Texas’ counties are in both of the “red zones”— 123 out of Texas’ 254.
The top 12 counties in the “red zone,” ranked by the highest number of cases in the past three weeks, were:
