Recruitment for the Dallas Police Department has increased within the last few days.
Overall, interest is up. On the Dallas police recruitment Facebook page, the latest posts — which received more than one hundred likes and dozens of shares and comments — expresses gratitude for the recent interest.
In the wake of the shooting at a protest in downtown Dallas that killed five officers, injured nine officers and wounded two bystanders, Dallas Police Chief David Brown gave an open invitation to protesters and the rest of the community to stand up.
”Serve your community. Don’t be a part of the problem. We’re hiring," he stated. "Get off that protest line and put an application in. We will put you in your neighborhood, and we will help you resolve some of the problems you are protesting about.”
One week after Brown issued the open invitation, Jaiston Sawyer was one of the many people to express interest.
“When I heard him say those words I actually got chills," Sawyer said. "I’m one of those guys when I see police brutality, I get on Facebook and start expressing my opinion. I am concerned about the violence in the community and around our country. I feel like Chief Brown was talking to me.”
Sawyer is a husband and father and a native North Texan who served in the Navy.
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"I see the tension on both sides," he said. "I believe there needs to be a change.”
Sawyer added that he needs to “be the change.”
“When I see people, its like looking at myself in the mirror," he said. "It wouldn’t be so much policing, but just defending the constitutional rights of all the citizens out there."
Sawyer said he wants to be a good role model for his son, who also wants to be a police officer.
