For the men and women in blue, and the law-abiding citizens of the city, the Dallas HERO accountability and public safety-themed amendments passed by voters last month came in the nick of time.
That was the message shared by HERO proponents and supporters last night at a Dallas Express HERO forum, where advocates laid bare the scope of the problem facing the city and its undermanned police department.
“I absolutely think there has been an effort to defund the police,” HERO Managing Director Pete Marocco told about 100 folks who braved pouring rain to attend the forum.
In fact, that was exactly what some members of the City Council were doing. Documents obtained by The Dallas Express and reported Monday showed Dallas officials leaning heavily into political correctness at the potential expense of public safety.
A recent wave of documents showcasing political moves in the DFW area reveals an explicit effort by some City Council members to defund the Dallas Police Department and shift taxpayer funds to more “woke” social justice programs. Various documents obtained by The Dallas Express, particularly communications from multiple council members to former City Manager TC Broadnax, show an agenda that appeared to prioritize progressive social justice programs over the basic safety and security of Dallas residents.
Marocco noted it was informed, law-abiding citizens who voted to dismantle the “deliberate problem” of defunding the police at City Hall.
“Our heroes deserve better,” said Marocco, who oversaw the drive behind Propositions S, T and U – known collectively as the HERO amendments.
Proposition U amends the charter to “require the City to spend no less than 50% of the annual revenue that exceeds the previous year’s annual revenue to fund the Dallas Police and Fire Pension and increasing starting salaries for Dallas police officers and require the City to have at least 4,000 officers.”
The city needs to hire about another 900 officers to hit the staffing target.
“How can you be a city leader and watch your department decline?” questioned Dallas PD Sgt. Sheldon Smith, head of the city branch of the National Black Police Officers’ Association.
But with the new staffing and pension mandate defined in Proposition U, Smith — a vocal HERO supporter — said morale is already increasing.
“The rank-and-file officers come to me, and they say thank you,” Smith told the forum. “They appreciate it.”
HERO organizers last week publicly put the City of Dallas on notice to follow the law — or face a lawsuit authorized by the citizen-backed Proposition S.
Dallas HERO attorney Art Martinez de Vera filed a notice of claim with the city secretary’s office during a City Council meeting. De Vera highlighted the city’s failure to enforce the Texas penal code.
In the letter delivered, de Vera urged the city to take immediate action to follow the Texas penal code and dismantle homeless campgrounds or risk facing a lawsuit within 60 days.
Marocco said this action is intended to find a solution to the homelessness crisis, and not as a punishment.
“This is a problem that can be solved,” he said.
Proposition S grants Dallas citizens “standing to bring a lawsuit against the City, entitles them to seek declaratory and injunctive relief, and waives the City’s governmental immunity from suit and liability claims.”
Unlike Amendments S and U, Amendment T failed at the ballot box. It would have tied the financial compensation of the city manager to the results of a yearly citizen survey.