Dallas Police Chief Renee Hall Lays Out More Policies Addressing Use Of Force, Racial Bias
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) -The Dallas Police Chief announced more changes Monday in the wake of nearly two weeks of protests to limit certain police practices and create new requirements to reduce the chances of an unarmed suspect being killed.
Chief Renee Hall faced questions from Dallas City Council members for the first time about changes she announced last week.
Some on the council were critical the chief would take action without consulting elected leaders first.
As calls for change in the streets continue following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis Police custody, the Dallas Police Department will institute new policies to address complaints involving abuse of force and racial bias.
During a Public Safety Committee meeting Monday, Chief Renee Hall told council members she officially banned chokeholds, which have not been practiced since 2004.
She also implemented a duty to intervene policy, ordering officers to stop other officers when they act inappropriately.
She said next week the Dallas Police Department will institute a policy requiring officers to announce warnings before shooting.
Later this month, the department will enact a policy to release more dash cam and body cam videos as well as order a review all use of force policies.
During the online meeting and discussion, some on the council brought up concerns the controversial idea of defunding police departments that some cities are considering.
Council members say that's not on the table but a reexamination of policing in Dallas is.
"We know what they are asking for," said District 3 Council Member Casey Thomas. "They are asking for change. Not just with police policy but they're asking us to change how we allocate funds and that's on us. We're going to have to make decisions that a lot of people are not going to be happy with, I just got to be honest about it."
Another DPD change in the works is the expansion of a program to answer mental health-related calls that can turn violent and create an early warning system that identifies officers with a history of using force.