City Manager A.C. Gonzalez Addresses Concerns of DPD Associations

This statement is in response to media inquiries regarding discussions between police associations and City Manager A.C. Gonzalez. The City Manager has been engaged in discussions with association members and Chief Brown for several weeks.

“Unfortunately, the city is facing an increase in crime after more than a decade of reductions,” said Gonzalez. “We are dedicated to aggressively addressing this spike and returning the tide to crime reductions.

We must keep in mind that Dallas has seen an overall reduction in crime that is at levels we haven’t seen since the 1930s. With crime rates this low, we expect to see spikes at times, as we are seeing in different parts of the country today. But once we see those increases in crime, we must act immediately so that we do not see chronic problems resurfacing in our community.

We support Chief Brown and also recognize that this is a tremendous learning opportunity as to how we can make improvements within the police department. The Chief has heard his officers’ concerns and also recognizes the needs of our community.”

DPD Chief David Brown notified City Manager A.C. Gonzalez today that late Monday night Governor Greg Abbott’s office offered state resources to DPD.

“Given state and federal resources and the volunteers on DPD staff who are willing to assist, this will significantly change our initial plan to shuffle many of our police officers,” said Chief Brown.

“The big takeaway for me this week was sustainability. The plan presented to the Public Safety Committee yesterday was not sustainable over a long period of time and it would put a tremendous strain on our police force. It is clear to me that we need a study on staffing models, internal communications, response times and best practices. We are currently identifying resources that can be allocated toward this study within the next few months and I will make sure that the study includes input from our police officers.”