Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson Issues Proclamation On Dallas Violence At MLK Gala
DALLAS, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) — Last year, there were more than 200 homicides within Dallas city limits. And now that Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is approaching, Mayor Eric Johnson is declaring 2020 "a year of nonviolence."
At the 38th MLK Gala, Mayor Johnson issued his proclamation.
"We have to do more... we have to do more," he said. "MLK weekend, I feel, is the perfect weekend, the perfect time, the perfect moment for us to send a message to our entire city."
This comes just weeks after Dallas Police Chief Renee Hall released a crime plan aiming for:
- A 10% reduction in murders in south Dallas
- A 10% reduction in robberies in northeast and southwest Dallas
- A 5% violent crime reduction citywide
Hall believes it can be achieved through an intelligence led policing division and a 100 officer violent crime response team. She said there will be more warrant roundups and deterrent programs trying to transition violent offenders into a non-criminal lifestyle.
Johnson says the community also plays a part in reducing violent crime.
"This weekend serves as a reminder of how much people can achieve, how much they can accomplish with their resolve, their determination, their faith and reason as their weapons," he said.
Johnson wants to see violent crime reduced to the 2018 levels citywide — at least.