The Dallas Police Department has curious timing. A press release dropped Monday saying DPD Honored for Violent Crime Reduction just one day after a mass shooting involving ten victims and no suspect in downtown Dallas.
Garcia’s plans have been mostly kept under wraps from citizens and journalists. The award also comes after Dallas was hit by a data breach which affected nearly twenty thousand cases including assaults, rape, and other crimes against persons.
DPD Honored For Violent Crime Reduction – Numbers, Not Neighborhoods
Police Chief Eddie Garcia had a number of comments in the city press release.
Garcia said, “The Violent Crime Evidence-Based Reduction Plan is the result of work closely with criminologists, hearing from other departments within the City, and, most importantly, listening to our neighborhoods most impacted by violent crime. Our ultimate goal is the reduction of crime, with an increase in community trust. We will strive for both, as these concepts are not mutually exclusive. We will see further challenges in 2022 and our priority now is for our men and women to continue to partner with our community and strive to achieve an even safer Dallas.”
A South Dallas mass shooting resulted in ten victims early this morning at a party venue. Many more were injured trying to escape the violence that has police without answers.
At least four ambulances were seen taking injured victims to local hospitals including one fourteen year old victim.
Police reported an eighteen year old male was in critical condition. The conditions and injuries of the other victims were not announced.
South Dallas Mass Shooting Part Of Larger Issues
The mass shooting was one of several instances of gun violence around Dallas early Sunday. A 55-year-old man was fatally shot in Old East Dallas shortly before 4:00AM. It follows a student trainer being shot by a Kimball High School basketball player almost a week ago.
Police are short on clues and anyone with information about the incident should contact Dallas police Detective Alec Lopez at alec.lopez@dallascityhall.com or (214) 671-3658. Please refer to case No. 048526-2022.
Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest and indictment. To make an anonymous tip, call (214) 373-8477.
There are concerns about Dallas Police Department’s ability to capture the shooter – as there are concerns in the Christmas Day Garland shooting. Other citizens are worried that if an arrest does happen, he or she will simply be let off the hook by a judge more interested in re-election than the rule of law.
The Dallas Police First Amendment policy appears to be make it up as you go.
On Wednesday, local newshound Avi Adelman posted he got a tip about a shooting in East Dallas and went to the scene.
As noted in his Facebook post, an officer stopped him – a freelance member of the local media community from approaching – despite other civilians being in the immediate area.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit arrested Adelman several years ago for photographing an incident in the public eye which cost taxpayers a six figure settlement due to that officer’s aggressiveness.
Public Information Officers for Dallas Police initially stated they “will work on it” when asked why officers had responded as they did. In a follow up, another PIO provided a copy of the Department General Order, but also would not answer what training failures existed on the issue of First Amendment civil rights.
Dallas Police Academy has a history of problems including Lieutenant Brian William Deininger, an officer assigned to teach Field Sobriety training, but who was found unresponsive in his car slurring his words when police and EMS showed up in Irving, Texas.
Dallas Police First Amendment Policy
The Dallas Police force appears to be shizophrenic on the issue of civil rights protections.
In summer 2020, officers actively assaulted civilian protestors and bystanders during the George Floyd protests locally. More recently, they have allowed far right, white protestors to disrupt the school day at Dallas ISD’s Dealey Montessori campus.
Additionally, the Dallas Police Department is not responding to public information requests blaming COVID19 – another transparency issue in a department with increasing problems relating to the public they “serve” while also hiding crime data from citizens, crime watch groups, and journalists.
The Dallas Police Department is shocked tonight as DPD loses Qualified Immunity in the case involving the death of Tony Timpa.
On Wednesday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, ruled that Dallas police officers violated a mentally ill man’s constitutional rights when they pinned him to the ground for fourteen minutes and that they might be liable for his death.
DPD Loses Qualified Immunity: Start Of Trend?
It is unclear if the Timpa decision will lead to others.
In the June 2020 George Floyd protests, Dallas officers injured numerous protestors leading to an After Action Report with a number of excuses, but no blame.
In addition to assaulting protestors, several bystanders were injured also.
White protestors at Dealey Montessori are being protected by Dallas Police Officers despite blocking walking paths of parents picking up their children and repeatedly wandering onto school property. Dallas Police are also not responding to calls for assault against children at Dealey.
Dealey had been COVID19 free until the mask mandate lifted and then it shot to seven cases once the protesting students were allowed to attend class unmasked. They have since been withdrawn.
Dealey Montessori has now had four protests this semester starting in September and again in October due to districtwide mask mandates. Prior to the second event, The Gents Place corporate blog asked which is more appropriate the AK47 or M16 in a blog post that seemed to threaten students and staff. The parent leading the protests at the time was the Chief Culture Officer for The Gents Place.
At the time, Adam McGough was the only member of Dallas City Council to request Dallas Police assistance. Requests to Gay Donnel Willis and Jaynie Schultz went unanswered.
More concerning now is the lack of response from Dallas ISD to parent concerns. Four separate families report Dealey Montessori staff and principal Beth Wing do not respond to calls, emails, and do not communicate in a timely manner about these events.
These familes say in addition to no answers from Beth Wing or Ryan Zysk, there is no communication at all and the district is shutting down conversation with the very people who support the school.
“Dallas ISD Board Services will not even allow speakers against the management of the school,” said another parent who continued, “they want emails, but then they do not respond.”
One parent noted she had found what appeared to be a recent threat on her son’s social media accounts about a shooting and their was no response from school staff.
“What is the use in a see something, say something policy if the people you say it to ignore you?,” the parent asked.
Wing also disappointed school families for her late cancellation of a school play that had run for years.
City Officials With Two Responses
The furstration is mounting though for parents.
Today’s protest included Lynn Strawn Daenport – a local education gadfly – who is known to be a QAnon afficionado. QAnon has been growing in local political power among Republicans. Earlier this year Gen. Mike Flynn suggested a coup at the Dallas Convention Center.
Davenport’s husband works for Dallas based Top Golf and a small group of parents are considering a counter protest at both The Gents Place and Top Golf to respond to what they describe as ongoing harassment.
“If they continue to harrass and threaten our children, we will hit them in the pocketbook,” said one parent.
While Dallas Police do not have time to deal with threats against children, local city officials are harrassing local homeowners over other First Amendment issues.
White Protestors At Dealey Montessori v Black Protestors at Dealey Plaza
In a statement by Public Information Officer Melinda Gutierrez “the Dallas Police Department will not interfere with a lawful and peaceful assembly of any individuals or groups expressing their first amendment rights.”
She would not respond to follow up questions about why white COVID19 protestors are being handled so differently from black protestors during the George Floyd protest.
Tacoma Wants Moore – Avery Moore – and is taking him from Dallas Police Department where he has spent the past several years looking to exit to other chief positions across the country.
The Tacoma (WA) City Council unanimously approved the appointment of Dallas’ Assistant Chief of Police for Investigations to the position of Police Chief per a Dallas Morning News report. He is designated to start January 18, 2022.
Moore has served three decades in the Dallas Police Department. He has overseen Dallas special investigations division and the tactical unit. Prior to those assignments he managed seven hundred officers in the East Patrol Bureau. He’s also worked as a SWAT commander and the legislative affairs liaison.
Tacoma is struggling with the same issues Dallas faces: higher crime rates and an inability to recruit officers.
Tacoma Wants Moore Or Do They?
Tacoma has appointed Mr. Moore unanimously, but his record in Dallas is mixed at best.
Future crime data will be limited by a move by Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia.
The otherwise public information is used by both news outlets including Other Side Dallas and by neighborhood groups to monitor community based crime will be harder to access in Dallas based on the secretive police chief’s decisions.
In recent weeks, Garcia has been said to be living on Eddie Garcia Island, by his own staff members. They allude to him being out of touch with both citizens and officers.
Crime Data Accountability
This move puts Garcia squarely at odds with groups seeking police accountability after incidents like the George Floyd protest and lack of responsibility taken by the department after its officers injured bystanders and protestors alike. The city and the department have both been quiet about the Dallas data breach which endangered thousands of prosecutions locally.
It also does not reflect recent actions by Dallas police officers who were caught beating civilians on the streets of Deep Ellum without cause or the recent detention of a family, who were in their own home, in an incident that reminds us of the Botham Jean murder.
Eddie Garcia Island is what Dallas Police insiders are calling the freshman chief’s lack of accountability and transparency when dealing with the public.
The issue came up recently as Dallas Police over ruled the recommendation of Internal Affairs over officer discipline after an excessive force incident and instead took the recommendation of the Training Academy.
An officer with a sister law enforcement agency said “Chief Garcia seems to be repeating the errors of Chief Hall. It didn’t work out too well for her or the City of Dallas.”
Eddie Garcia Island Is Just Renee Hall 2.0
Almost a year ago, Reneé Hall raced from her duties as DPD Chief after an inappropriate relationship with Dominique Alexander was exposed.
It was this relationship and not her repeated lies about the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge incident which moved Hall’s move out of the Chief’s office.
At the time the Community Police Oversight Board were asking questions about her accountability, but no action was taken, even after an After Action Report demonstrated a historic failure in responding to the George Floyd protests of 2020.
Chief Garcia’s arrival was supposed to turn the page on the errors of Chief Hall, but now it appears the same problems of insularity and aloofness are happening again.
Another law enforcement source said, “he only engages on his terms and the problem with that is when people reach out in good faith and you dont hear back what do you do?” This person continued, “if you really want to listen to the community you have to listen. You have to return phone calls, you have to return emails, you have to answer questions whether you like it or not.”
A third person noted, “Garcia is too busy using officers for politically motivated ‘investigations’ and not handling the regular shootings in downtown and uptown” which are keeping crowds from returning. “As long as people do not feel safe – downtown Dallas is in a bind.”
The Dallas Police Department had no answers to why the detained lawful homeowners in their own home in an incident that reminds the public of the Botham Jean incident.
According to a news report by Fox5, Dallas police mistakenly assumed a mother and her son were burglars and detained them while they were in their own home.
One neightbor described the incident as being detained for “being black and owning a home.”
No Answers Again For Citizens Asking Why
Dallas Police have not returned telephone calls or emails, but the incident harkens back to the Botham Jean incident where a man was murdered by then Dallas Police Officer Amber Guyger. Her case is still in appeal.
It also makes Dallas area residents nervous about the ability of DPD to do their job without assaulting citizens or the protests that result from these examples where judgement is not obvious.
The incident is a reminder of the short fuses DPD has when it comes to being asked questions by citizens while officers often go without accountability including Sgt. Melvin Williams.
Chief Garcia’s office has been noticeably silent after repeated requests for comment on a number of issues. A Public Information Officer noted that DPD has not been able to “determine if an administrative investigation is warranted.”
Erin Nealy Cox takes over the city investigation into IT losses which deleted millions of police files used in criminal prosecutions.
Nealy Cox is the former US Attorney for the Northern District of Texas and was recommended by Dallas officials hoping to find answers to the data loss jeopardizing upwards of 17,000 criminal cases.
Council members on Thursday also questioned the head of the city’s IT department about a 131-page report released two weeks ago that found the country’s ninth-largest city lacked basic policies and procedures for backing up archived data.
The City Council’s general investigating and ethics committee unanimously agreed Thursday to recommend law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP to conduct the independent review. The City Council will have to approve the decision to make it official.
“The data loss incident may have originated with a single employee who broke the rules,” said council member Cara Mendelsohn, who is chair of the committee. “But it’s clear from this report that there are no rules.
“The discovery of the data loss is horrific to the victims of family violence, and I’m not sure that we can ever fully apologize for any of the cases that don’t move forward because of these errors.”
Erin Nealy Cox – No Stranger To Dallas Police
Nealy Cox, resigned from North Texas’ U.S. Attorney’s Office in December estimated the review and report would take three months to complete and cost taxpayers more than half a million dollars.
Dallas Police Executive Assistant Chief Albert Martinez said an investigation continues alongside the Dallas FBI Field Office.
