Police unions agree: Dallas chief must go

Jason Whitely, WFAA

March 28, 2016

DALLAS — It was a rare sight on Monday as the city’s four police unions actually agreed on something: That David Brown should no longer lead the department.

"If he doesn't listen to them, then some of us are going to have to rethink our position with the chief," said Rene Martinez, director of the League of United Latin American Citizens District 3 and a Brown supporter.

Martinez sat in on the chief's meeting Monday afternoon with 150 Latino officers. He recalled Brown's words: "He pleaded. He pleaded. He said, 'We've got to do this. I need your help to address crime.'"

Hours earlier before a City Council committee, Brown outlined an overhaul at the Dallas Police Department which includes drastic scheduling changes, moving 600 officers to the night shift in an effort to fight rising violent crime.

"If I were a criminal in Dallas right now, I'd leave and not come back," Brown said. "We are bringing the full force of the police department to bear on this spike in crime."

But the abrupt and unprecedented scheduling shift by the chief led the Black Police Association to take an extraordinary step and publicly say it would stop supporting Chief Brown, who is African-American.

"We have African-American officers -- large numbers of them -- calling us asking that we pull our support," said Thomas Glover, president of the BPA. "We didn't just do this without thought. It wasn't a decision that was made hastily. There are a whole litany of things I'll be outlining in the next day or so as to why this took place, and again, I want to repeat we made every effort possible to work with Chief Brown.”

"We will work with whoever they put in front of us, but right now, the officers don't like the coach we have leading this department," said Dallas Police Association president Ron Pinkston.

As WFAA first reported on Sunday, Mayor Mike Rawlings stands behind the chief. On Monday, Brown brushed off calls to step down.

"I just don't have time for union politics. I'm focused solely straightforward on making sure that we save lives," the chief said.

Still, Brown's career is at a crossroads.

He grew up in this department and has 33 years with Dallas police. Without faith of the rank-and-file, the chief's career depends on support from City Hall.

On Monday night, the four police unions issued this joint statement:

We had a productive meeting with Mayor Rawlings. Our primary message was simple – if we stay with the current policies of the DPD leadership, the crime rate will continue to be a burden on Dallas families and businesses.

Our officers are the best in the country, but the Chief's policies are making it difficult for us to do our job. We look forward to continuing our conversations with Mayor Rawlings and other City Hall leaders to make the changes needed to best protect our families from violent crime.

Every family in every part of Dallas has the right to live in peace. That should be the top priority at City Hall.

National Latino Law Enforcement Organization
Black Police Association
Dallas Police Association
Fraternal Order Of Police

On Monday night, the four unions said they plan more conversations with Mayor Mike Rawlings and City Council members.

(© 2016 WFAA)