Against the backdrop of protests across the country, Dallas city and county leaders joined a Zoom call to discuss issues impacting the city.
The attendees included Dallas police Chief Renee Hall, Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot and Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax.
With protests happening in Dallas and nationwide in response to the killing of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody, many of the questions were directed at Hall.
There were questions and concerns about police brutality, policing in predominately black communities and the protocol for terminating officers deemed unfit for the job.
“My question is will you just make a commitment to fire racist cops? People are less interested in perfect policy, they want the impact and the results to reach the ground,” activist Brittany White said.
“No one wants a racist police officer,” Hall said. “When we find that an officer violates someone’s constitutional rights, discriminates against someone due to race, color, religion, sexual orientation, then those individuals are subjected to termination from this organization because those are the rules. And when those individuals are found guilty of that, they are terminated.”
Click here to view the full discussion.
There was also a discussion about state troopers returning to Dallas this summer. Community leaders on the call said they feared over-policing of black and brown communities if troopers were brought back.
Hall said she has received feedback from neighborhoods that, in contrast, welcomed the idea of troopers returning. She also reminded the group that she was 600 officers short, compared to her predecessor and troopers were brought in to help bring down crime.
