Additionally, a Dallas school teacher accused by multiple students of sexual contact goes unarrested by either Dallas Police Department or Dallas ISD Police.
Dallas Police sergeant Michael Patino accused by Arlington police of Driving While Intoxicated. Second in as many months.
Arlington dispatched police and fire units to the 6900 block of Russell Curry Road last week for a motor vehicle collision. Upon arrival they found a white Dodge Ram pickup had left the roadway and crashed into a tree.
Medical units transported the driver, Dallas police officer Michael Patino, via EMS helicopter. His triage rating was critical per one source connected to the scene.
Arlington officers believe alcohol was a factor in the crash. Arlington police will charge Patino with DWI upon discharge from the hospital.
Michael Patino Career
Dallas Police say Patino is a Special Operation Division sergeant. His normal assignment is at Love Field. He is on administraive leave pending an Internal Affairs investigation.
He is the second officer in as many months charged with DWI assigned to the Special Operations unit.
A Dallas cop arrested again should drive voters mad.
Dallas Police officer Officer Tyrone Williams Jr., 49, was booked into the Dallas County jail Tuesday on a second charge of sexual assault of a child, police said.
The first charge stems from an encounter when he pushed himself on the friend of his daughter. The daughter’s family were friends with the Williams family.
There is no word on the new charges and who the victim is in this case.
Dallas Cop Arrested Again – One More Crooked Piece of Puzzle
Dallas Police have suffered numerous officers acting poorly in the past several years.
Additionally, a DPD Officer arrested in Fort Worth has an interesting history. Dallas police officer, Senior Corporal Daniel Collins, was arrested in March 2021 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 wild west Deep Ellum violence continues with an overnight shooting in the entertainment district.
This shooting took two more lives and impacted countless others as three others were wounded around 2:00AM when clubs were closing in the area. Dallas Police say they have those involved in custody.
Dallas Police say they believe this is an isolated incident, but a safety plan for the area was released just one day ago.
Overall violence crime is up and Dallas per capita crime rivals Chicago, Los Angeles, and other historic centers of city violence.
Last month, city leaders met with Safe Night LLC, a group aimed at creating safe environments for businesses and patrons, for training on how to improve street safety around Dallas, but particularly as the violence takes a toll on the nighttime economy trying to recover from coronavirus.
Wild West Deep Ellum Violence
Violence is not new to Deep Ellum and Dallas police close streets in the area on weekends under the guise of curtailing violence though it is not clear that works.
Some in Deep Ellum believe Dallas Police Department officers escalate situations unnecessarily as in the case of Melvin Williams who assaulted a bystander.
City code enforcement also has a confusing relationship with the area. Last year code enforcement began ticketing club owners for noise violations in an area zoned for clubs and entertainment.
Dallas residents were rightfully concerned by Dallas weather conditions Wednesday afternoon with ice pending, but Dallas City Attorney Chris Caso chose Wednesday afternoon for its Dallas data loss media drop saying Erin Nealy Cox’s report was submitted and going to members of City Council.
The firm’s report, findings, and recommendations were made available to the City Council in a closed session during today’s council meeting.
Dallas Data Loss Media Drop
Erin Nealy Cox took over an independent investigation into the city 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.
Neither Cox, nor Kirkland&Ellis, nor the City of Dallas have responded to questions about the investigation, but there are at least two allegations we have learned about involving a coverup of federal housing dollars in South Dallas and past and present members of City Council.
The report next goes to the Ad Hoc Committee on General Investigating and Ethics on Tuesday, March 1. The report will be made public this week in advance of the committee meeting. That committee is led by Cara Mendelsohn, District 12.
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.
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.
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.”
DPD is investigating an officer for possible use of excessive force during a recent arrest in Deep Ellum. The investigation comes after Dallas Texas TV shows an officer pushing a man into a light post. The officer then punches him repeatedly while he was on the ground before two other officers intervene and remove the attacking officer.
There is no word on the condition of the man assaulted or what prompted the actions by what appears to be a police sergeant, i.e. a front line supervisor who would be expected to set the standard for behavior in uniform.
This assault comes almost fourteen months after another video shows DPD officers beating a prone subject during the George Floyd protests. It is still unknown if those officers ever faced disciplinary action for their behavior.
It is not clear how this incident will be seen by City Council who last year was working to defund the police.
Keep Dallas Safe which is launching a podcast today has called on 2000 new officers.
DPD Assault In Deep Ellum Applauded By Chief Garcia
DPD released a statement on the incident:
“The Dallas Police Department is aware of the video on social media showing a Dallas officer using force in the Deep Ellum area of downtown Dallas. The officer has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an Internal Affairs administrative investigation. A criminal inquiry is also being reviewed by the department. Chief Garcia would like to commend those officers who recognize their duty to intervene in this incident and deescalated the situation.”
One source noted that while Chief Eddie Garcia commends the officers who intervened, it took a social media post, not self reporting of the incident by officers to bring the issue to light.
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.
