Dallas Police Chief David Brown offered a cool response Tuesday to a 10-point reform plan offered by the Dallas Police Association while a city council member said it will not be overlooked.
DPA President Ron Pinkston said the plan comes in response to a survey showing extremely low officer morale.
“We want to make the Dallas Police Department the top police department in the country and to do that we have to fix the morale,” Pinkston said.
The plan also comes as the department faces community criticism after 14 officer involved shootings this year.
At community meetings, Chief Brown has promised measures to maintain public trust in the department, including expanded use of body cameras to record what officers see.
The Association’s 10 points go further, calling, among other things, for increased transparency in all facets of the police department.
Pinkston said current policies are too restrictive on the information released to officers and citizens.
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“It’s doing the department a disservice because it doesn’t show that we’re open to the public and we’re hiding information,” Pinkston said.
The association also wants improved ethics enforcement for top brass as well as for rank and file officers and clearer policy on when the use of deadly force is allowed.
“It’s the citizens’ safety and the officers’ safety and officers can’t hesitate and that’s why we have to have a policy that’s iron clad,” Pinkston said.
In some areas, the Association is calling for changes Chief Brown has resisted in the past.
The plan calls for easing the department’s restrictive chase policy which Brown has defended for reducing accidents, injury and deaths.
“Dallas officers want to be able to chase the bad guys because citizens want us to catch the bad guys and we have policies that make it harder for us to do that,” Pinkston said.
From out of town Tuesday, Chief Brown issued a statement indicating he’s already opposed to some of the union’s 10 points.
"It's my desire to work with all of the union groups but it is my obligation to insure we maintain the public's trust and confidence, such that where union demands jeopardize that trust, we will not move forward," the statement said.
Dallas City Councilman Dwaine Caraway said all 10 points of the Association's plan deserves a thorough review and he will see they get it at the Dallas City Council Public Safety Committee on which he serves.
“This is something that I’m very serious about and very concerned,” Caraway said. “They’re the ones who are out on the street. We’re the ones who should be listening.”
NBC 5's Josh Ault contributed to this report.
To see the entire DPA’s 10-point reform plan and release, see below.
DV.load("//www.documentcloud.org/documents/1302118-dpa-10-point-reform-plan.js", { width: 650, height: 800, sidebar: false, container: "#DV-viewer-1302118-dpa-10-point-reform-plan" }); DPA 10 Point Reform Plan (PDF)DPA 10 Point Reform Plan (Text) DV.load("//www.documentcloud.org/documents/1302117-dpa-10-point-plan-release.js", { width: 650, height: 800, sidebar: false, container: "#DV-viewer-1302117-dpa-10-point-plan-release" }); DPA 10 Point Plan Release (PDF)
DPA 10 Point Plan Release (Text)
To see the plans on our smartphone app, click here.
