Nov 20 2014

Policy Changes and Initiatives RE: Officer Involved Shootings

A Message from the Chief of Police

Throughout my 32 year career as a Dallas police officer, the citizens of Dallas have shown great trust and confidence in the Dallas Police Department. I understand that this trust is hard to earn, but easy to lose. My pledge is that we will continue to work as hard to maintain and improve citizens’ trust as we did to earn it. In an effort to increase transparency, officer accountability, and improve officer safety, I have directed the implementation of numerous policy changes and initiatives. A number of these changes came after an officer involved shooting in 2012 and include:

  • Notification of the FBI Civil Rights Office at the time of all officer involved shootings
  • Development of a foot pursuit policy
  • Implementation of a response to resistance report that documents officers’ use of force to overcome resistant suspects
  • Enhanced review of digital video recordings by a specialized unit
  • Improved consensual search policy to require written or video documentation that a citizen voluntarily consented to a search
  • Created a community engagement team with the Community Affairs Unit to respond to community concerns and manage programs that create community trust and engagement
  • Mandated that all officers receive Taser training and maintain their certification
  • Conducted reviews of departments under investigation or consent decree by the Justice Department to understand past failures and determine best practices in the management of officer involved shooting incidents

These changes also include how we communicate with our community, equipment upgrades and continued “use of force” training of the more than 3500 sworn members of the Dallas Police Department. I believe that these changes have and will continue to positively impact officer safety and improve public trust and confidence.

In order to build on public awareness, we have attached information regarding Officer Involved Shootings, Use of Force Policy, and additional policy changes and initiatives that has been implemented by the Dallas Police Department.