Shannon Dion is among individuals who have spoken against the decision to withhold some information from online crime reports in Dallas.
Dion, whose mother was allegedly killed by a serial murder suspect, criticized the decision in a Tuesday statement released on behalf of families of Chemirmir’s alleged victims.
As reported by the Dallas Morning News, Dion stressed the importance of public data, saying that it helped her and the families of other victims figure out that something heinous was behind the series of unexplained deaths between April 2016 and March 2018.
She said documents from police reports from the Dallas PD helped her investigate the suspicious death of her mother, Doris Gleason, at a senior home in Far North Dallas in 2016.
The report says that Dion said she believes the withholding of information about crimes made it possible for Billy Chemirmir to evade authorities before his eventual arrest in 2018.
Per the Dallas Morning News report, Dion said, “Dallas’s police reduction rules are a complete contradiction to the principle of transparency. I am grateful that others, especially the media, find this lack of accountability reprehensible and potentially dangerous when others may see and find information to help police.”
The report also stated that Dion speaks for multiple family members of other alleged victims in the ongoing Chemirmir case who were troubled by the city’s decision.
As reported earlier by the Dallas Express, a memo sent by the city on Friday announced a reduction of some information in police reports accessible to the public.
The memo also recommended that Dallas PD be allowed to delay informing the public about active calls for at least 24 hours and recommendations from city staff that would redact other crime data.
The city said the change is put in place to protect sensitive data about victims.
