Dallas neighborhood hires off-duty officers as police brace for surge in New Year's Eve fireworks
NORTH TEXAS — Police departments across North Texas are gearing up for a surge in calls related to fireworks and celebratory gunfire on New Year's Eve. A neighborhood in southeast Dallas is taking matters into its own hands to cut down on illegal activity.
The Marsalis Park Homeowner's Association is spending its own money to hire off-duty Dallas police officers to patrol the community's 11 streets Tuesday evening. Setting off fireworks or firing guns in the air is not only illegal, it's dangerous.
"Someone can lose a life behind those gunshots, and it has happened," said Ola Allen, the president of the homeowner's association. "It was out of control, and so one day we were talking about what could we do? And a light came on - let's see if we can hire officers to patrol our area. So then we little bumblebees, we got busy."
Marsalis Park started hiring the added security about five years ago. It costs almost $2,000 for the night, but Allen says it's money well spent.
"Every year gets better, and that's good," Allen said. "That tells us we're doing something constructive, we're progressing, and we're helping others."
The neighborhood has many elderly residents, and they say hearing random gunfire can be terrifying.
"Hit the floor, get away from the windows because you never know where it's coming from and it's not a single gunshot," said Jerome Shaw, who lives in Marsalis Park.
Last year, Dallas police received 57 random gunfire calls and 641 holiday signal random gunfire calls, which are incidents where callers didn't see the gunfire and didn't want to interact with officers.
"The Dallas Police Department is committed to ensuring all New Year's celebrations are safe and enjoyable," a spokesperson for DPD said in a statement. "Residents should expect a visible police presence. We would like to remind our community members that celebratory gunfire is very dangerous, and it is illegal in the City of Dallas. The punishments range from one to 10 years in jail, with fines up to $10,000. If you see something suspicious or unusual, always call 9-1-1."
Allen says other communities should consider hiring off-duty officers for the evening to ensure a more peaceful new year.
"We know that we have the police department and we have police officers, but they just can't be everywhere at the same time," she said. "And this is a good way for us to be good citizens…. And I think Dallas would be a much better place, when it comes to events like the 4th of July and New Year's Eve, if we all would just take just a little time to think of others."
