Nearly a dozen Dallas police officers want to work in Lewisville, lured by high starting salaries the Lewisville Police Department is offering experienced officers.
“We’re not targeting any particular department, it just depends on the officers themselves,” said Officer David Henley with Lewisville Police. "You can get experienced officers from all over the state and all over the country."
Lewisville is making an offer many experienced officers can’t refuse - a starting salary of $77,041 for those with five or more years on the job and $65,910 for officers with just one year under their belt.
“To lure those officers that have experience with other agencies, they need to be compensated, says Lewisville Assistant Police Chief Kevin Deaver. "Normally, we see a handful of certified applicants that show up for our testing process. This time we had 47, so big increase”.
Thirty-two applicants remain in the running.
Twenty of them are from nearby departments in North Texas, 11 from the Dallas Police Department alone.
“You’re getting experienced officers, you can put them out on the street a whole lot sooner. You don’t have to send them to the academy. There’s a win-win benefit with that," said Henley.
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Most applying from Dallas have seven or eight years on the job, but even with just one year of experience, a Dallas police officer would get a $19,000 raise in Lewisville.
Dallas police officers with five years of experience would receive a 49 percent raise in Lewisville.
“The public safety that you’re putting in jeopardy over losing these applicants is mind boggling," said Dallas Police Association President Frederick Frazier. "Dallas is supposed to be leaders in so many sorts, but we’re just letting our attractive employees walk right out the door."
Even with money in the Dallas city budget for a five percent raise, Dallas police would still be paid much less than what Lewisville and other departments offer.
