Dallas leaders call for change after targeted attack on police officers
DALLAS — Standing in the shadow of a police vehicle placed to honor the life of fallen Officer Darron Burks, civic leaders representing the southern sector in Dallas asked for an outpouring of support for police while calling for change in the community.
Police said Corey Cobb-Bey, 30, shot and killed 46-year-old Burks in Oak Cliff late Thursday in a targeted attack as he sat in his marked police car. Two other officers who later came to his aid and were also shot are recovering.
"Officer Burks was executed," Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia said last week at a news conference. "... Our officers were targeted for nothing more than the uniform they wear and for the brave and honorable job that they do."
Addressing a crowd of about 100 who gathered Tuesday to support Burks, in front of the South Central Patrol Division along West Camp Wisdom Road, Sen. Royce West asked community members to show more support for the Dallas Police Department, including officers who serve in his district, which includes the southern sector of Dallas.
"Police officers who leave home in the morning, some of them have families. Most families want to see them returned home in the evening. In this instance, Officer Burks obviously is transitioning to another home far beyond here. And I would hope that just because he happens to be African-American, that we in this community recognize the importance of supporting police officers when they are serving our community," he said.
West stood flanked by other civic leaders and members of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, of which Burks was also a member.
"We need to make certain, family, that his life was not lived in vain," he added.
Nearly 200 officers were killed in the line of duty between 2021 and 2023, according to an FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program special report released earlier this year. The report, entitled Officers Killed and Assaulted in the Line of Duty, 2023 Special Report, provides preliminary counts of law enforcement officers killed and assaulted in 2023, with added context to enforcement officers who were killed or assaulted from 2014 through 2023, based on the data voluntarily provided by law enforcement agencies to the FBI's UCR Program.
Additional reporting from the U.S. Department of Justice showed the state of Texas had the highest number of officers shot by state or territory in 2023. In all, 39 officers were shot, and four of those officers died, according to incident data compiled for the state.
In an interview Sunday with CBS News Texas, Mayor Pro Tem and District 8 Council Member Tennell Atkins said the shootings amplified a need to identify and address deeper issues within the community.
"We need to put more resources into finding out what caused this and how we solve the problem," he said, expressing grief for the family.
"We've got to deal with [what happened]. We have to cope with it," Mayor Pro Tem Atkins said. "We have so many people in the street that look like me, African American, that need help. We have to understand [through] this tragedy here, that we need to help other people," he added.
A Dallas City Council Committee meeting on public safety is scheduled for later in September.