Police in Dallas, Texas, has backtracked on its memo for officers not to respond to 911 calls about an array of offenses, including car theft, criminal mischief and reckless damage, saying it was sent “prematurely” after outcry.
The internal memo, which began making rounds online on Saturday, was to come into force Monday, January 4, and would have seen police officers no longer being dispatched to 911 calls dealing with stolen cars, criminal mischief, reckless damage, graffiti, runaway children and identity theft, among other offenses.
NEW: New rules on calls for @DallasPD@KRLDpic.twitter.com/S3EsnuNcDE
The 911 dispatchers were instead told to ask victims to file reports online through the Dallas Online Reporting System (DORS).
According to the leaked document, an exception was to be made for callers who lack internet access or if a call-taker “hears an ongoing disturbance or distress” on the other end of the receiver.
Officers were also to respond to the otherwise deprioritized calls if the online reporting mechanism malfunctions.
Almost as soon as the memo was posted online, it drew a considerable pushback. Conservative radio host Mark Dallas accused police of “a complete surrender to the attack on policing,” while others interpreted the recommendations as a call to arms.
#Dallas police will no longer respond to stolen cars, criminal mischief, reckless damage, runaway kids and child custody escalations, among other offenses. A complete surrender to the attack on policing. Good luck, Big D. https://t.co/heIdrk9Tjs
“So we can start shooting people on our property now with no response? That’s what I’m hearing,” one commenter said.
So we can start shooting people on our property now with no response? That’s what I’m hearing
“If Dallas wants to see the formation of neighborhood militias like we saw in the CHAZ/CHOP disaster, this is how you do it,” another chimed in.
If Dallas wants to see the formation of neighborhood militias like we saw in the CHAZ/CHOP disaster, this is how you do it.
It did not take long for the Dallas police to rescind the yet-to-be-implemented memo. However, the department did not rule out the guidelines being enforced in future, saying that the force was “still in the evaluation phase on this item.”
“Although conversations have been held on this topic, the memorandum was sent prematurely,” they said.
While some applauded the move, others argued that the police went into damage-control mode in a bid to “appease” critics, and that the memo could be reinstated when the dust settles.
So your getting a lot of pushback so your trying to appease your critics.But it sounds like this is the direction u r going…I just didn’t want to announce it or have it leaked. A lot of cops must be so demoralized by everything…including inept leadership
it will eventually be (quietly) reinstated
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