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Downtown residents air public safety grievances to Dallas police, city leaders

Dallas CVS security guard's murder sparks public safety concerns
Dallas CVS security guard's murder sparks public safety concerns 02:43

DALLAS — Dallas' Interim Police Chief Michael Igo said that the violent crime rate in Dallas was flat. He said property crime was down 23%, but the outcry from people in the area didn't reflect those statistics.

"We have a concerned community, and, obviously, whether it's a homicide, tragic homicide, or an incident regarding assault of a person, we never want to see that," Igo said. "We never want to see that any of our communities."

Downtown Dallas Incorporated hosted the meeting so residents and the city could address public safety concerns. The gathering comes after the murder of Anthony Egeonu.

Dallas Police said capital murder suspects in custody came into the store and bought a prepaid cell phone card. That purchase, according to investigators, evolved into a shoplifting incident. 39-year-old would end up getting shot multiple times by the 13-year-old, police said. 

"I still thought everything was okay because I knew he had his vest on," Octavia Egeonu said. "So when I got to the hospital, I was not expecting for them to tell me that they were sorry. I was expecting them to tell me that maybe he was in ICU or maybe he had just been wounded."

Octavia Egeonu and her mother-in-law, Gwendolyn Pipkins, and other family members attended the meeting. They want to ensure DPD is doing what it needs to do so no one else suffers as they have.

"How do you tell a 15-year-old your dad won't be taking you to the father-daughter day?" she said. "How do you tell my ten-year-old he won't be at her graduation from elementary---and my four-year-old who stays up every night to wait on his dad to come home?"

Residents who live downtown said the fatal shooting is stirring up existing fear. Jennifer Scripps, CEO & President of Downtown Dallas Inc., said incidents like the murder rob downtown.

"We should all be able to use a local store without concern. Visitors from local hotels should be able to take advantage of all that downtown has to offer," Scripps said.

People who live in the area said shoplifting is an issue. Igo acknowledged an uptick in that crime.

Residents called the homeless "fentanyl zombies," and one woman said she encountered a man pleasuring himself on the street as she walked with her niece.

Calls to the police, according to many voices in the packed room, have not produced the kind of response they expect.

"There's several factors that go into police response times," Igo said. "What the issue is. What type of call it is. I will tell you this, we can do better in police response times."

Igo said a task force put on the street in November has seen success. The group has one supervisor and six officers. They work from 5 p.m. - 3 a.m. He is prepared to add a daytime task force.

The interim chief, seeking the position permanently, is working with the University of Texas at San Antonio for a crime prevention analysis of the central business district, as DPD used UTSA criminologists before.

Igo told residents his department would leverage technology to gather suspect intel, review resources, and evaluate where they place police presence.

However, hiring enough police officers remains an issue, too. DPD would like to be at 3,600, but they are at approximately 3,100. Even at maximum capacity, Igo told the residents that officers respond to crimes on a priority system.

Police are also trying to work with the security industry. Igo said a recent symposium was not well attended.

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