DPD's Chief Brown Honored At Rally
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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - After several days of criticism from both local and national police groups, there is now a show of support for the Dallas Police Department's Chief David Brown. Prominent leaders rallied around Brown and the job that he has done as the city's police chief.
Mayor Mike Rawlings organized the Friday morning rally after some Dallas City Council members were accused of holding a backdoor meeting aimed at ousting Brown from his position.
There were around 100 people -- including some community leaders -- at the rally to lend their voices of support. Well-known pastors, nonprofit leaders and Dallas City Council members were all a part of the crowd. Also in attendance was Ron Pinkston, the president of the Dallas Police Association, the department's largest union. Brown acknowledged him in front of the crowd.
It has not been an easy few weeks for Brown, after calls for his departure.
Pinkston said that this should not be about politics. He came to hear the dialogue on some of the problems that his association sees right now in the department. "We want to hear a resolution to how to fix response times, how to fix violent crime, how to fix the attrition rate that's shooting out the roof," Pinkston said. "This isn't about Chief Brown and Chief Brown's personality. This is about fixing the Dallas Police Department."
Brown said that he has been meeting with officers one-on-one, talking to them about these concerns. "There's an opportunity to make this department better, and we want to seize that opportunity," he explained.
Right now, Brown is not backing down from his job. Rather, he said, he now feels reenergized and focused on making things better. "The appreciation today is encouragement for me to continue some of the things we've done, but also look for ways we can compromise and make the department much better than it is," Brown said.