The newly formed Dallas Community Police Oversight Board is about to tackle its first high-profile case. Tuesday night, the board voted to look into the case of Diamond Ross, a woman who died in Dallas police custody last year.
The move was made at the urging of Ross' family members who were present at the meeting. It came after recently released police video of Ross' last moments in their custody.
"My family was shook when we saw these videos. And we were disturbed," Ross' niece Kia'tenai Thomas told the oversight board.
The exchange was a pivotal moment in a meeting that was peaceful compared to the board's first meeting last month.
"This is a new day. This is a new board. And many of you in the audience are the reason we have this board," board chairman Jesuorobo Enobakhare said.
Also critical this time around was the invitation to community activist Changa Higgins to give a presentation to the board on its role.
"It may very well be that you could be sitting in a room full of people that are angry like this over an incident, and it's going to be your job to stand up in front of them and tell them what you're going to do," Higgins said.
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Assistant City Manager Jon Fortune also made a presentation. The city of Dallas is still searching for a police monitor to serve as a liaison to the oversight board. Fortune said the city has received 70 applications so far.
