Dallas police union leaders raised security concerns Friday after extensive vandalism at police headquarters and a police union hall Thursday night.
Hundreds of red hand marks also came with graffiti that supported killing officers.
Police union leaders were angry that security measures were not in place to prevent such bold vandalism.
“This, in my opinion, is a hate crime against police officers and our membership,” Dallas Police Association Vice-President Jaime Castro said.
Friday afternoon police released a statement that said 30 demonstrators had been at police headquarters Thursday evening when the vandalism occurred for a “Vigil to Honor Lives Taken at the Hands of DPD.”
The statement said two people were detained later, but released.
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“You've heard the phrase 'caught them red handed?' Here we are,” said DPA Vice-President Frederick Frazier. “The front of that building is very secure. Nobody is getting in there. But if you want to screw it up like they did last night? They did it. They did it with ease.”
Red hands vandalism also occurred at the DPA union hall including graffiti with the suggestion to kill a cop.
“All you can think about is the tears that have been shed in this building when we have to put their pictures up on our wall,” Castro said.
Dallas Police officers were protecting a Black lives matter rally in 2006 when a gunman killed five officers and wounded nine more before he was killed.
Headquarters was attacked in 2015 by a man in an armored van. He riddled the building with semi-automatic gunfire. He was killed later in a confrontation outside the city.
Since then there have been several other attacks on Dallas Police facilities.
“What needs to happen to finally get the attention of our command to finally say enough. Let's take enforcement,” Castro said.
Bulletproof glass and other security measures were added since then at headquarters and other police buildings. But Friday after the vandalism, a security camera was being repaired outside the building. Police confirmed some cameras were not working Thursday night.
“How do you not have it on. A police department, a multi-million dollar building that is constantly being attacked, not being monitored,” Frazier said.
Police said video that was recorded was being reviewed and they asked residents to share information about the incidents.
Friday, the vandalism had been power washed away from the buildings, but the hard feelings remained.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson issued a statement:
“I am supportive of peaceful protests. But this wasn’t a protest. This was criminal activity that cannot be tolerated. I was especially disappointed to see rhetoric advocating for violence, which has no place in discussions about police reforms. I am also surprised that this extensive vandalism could occur at the front doors of Dallas police headquarters. We need answers about how this happened, and we must ensure that we have adequate security at our city facilities.”
