Police

House Bill Aims to Ban 'No-Knock Warrants' but North Texas Police Agencies Already Use Them Sparingly

House Bill Aims to Ban 'No-Knock Warrants' but North Texas Police Agencies Already Use Them Sparingly

Report Says Dallas Spends Too Much on Mass Criminalization, Not Enough on Community Care

Report Says Dallas Spends Too Much on Mass Criminalization, Not Enough on Community Care

I support

Local

Community

Journalism

Support the independent voice of Dallas and help keep the future of Dallas Observer free.

Fake Paper Tags Scrutinized as Suspect Is Arrested in Case of Grand Prairie Officer's Death

By Kelly Dearmore
Nov 18, 2022

On Thursday, Grand Prairie police announced the arrest of Colbie Huffman, 22, in relation to the chase that resulted the crash that killed 32-year-old officer Brandon Tsai. Hoffman was driving a vehicle with fake paper tags when Tsai attempted to pull him over.
'Lubbock’s Anna Delvey' Pleads Guilty Over Elaborate Scams to Get Flights, Limos and Yacht Ride

By Patrick Strickland
Nov 11, 2022

J. Nicholas Bryant was 23 at the time of his crimes. Now, he's pleaded guilty in a federal court.
New Dallas Police Academy Could Cost $130–$150 Million and Include VR Training Space

By Jacob Vaughn
Nov 3, 2022

The Dallas Police Department has been training recruits at a temporary facility for over 30 years. The department hopes a new police academy will help it reach its staffing needs.
Plano Woman Faces a Second Lawsuit Over Racist Attack Against Four Indian Americans

By Jacob Vaughn
Oct 20, 2022

A second woman has filed a lawsuit against Esmeralda Upton, a Plano resident caught on video attacking and hurling racist insults at a group of Indian American women as they were winding down a night out in late August. Indrani Banerjee and three friends met at the restaurant Sixty Vines...
City of Dallas Considers Giving Itself a Heavier Hand to Go After 'Nuisance Properties'

By Jacob Vaughn
Oct 18, 2022

Dallas wants more ways to deal with what it calls "nuisance properties." It could get them by the end of this month.
One of the Suppliers in Plano Heroin Overdose Case Gets Three Decades in Federal Prison

By Patrick Strickland
Oct 15, 2022

It all started a little more than two years ago after a minor nearly died from a heroin overdose, and it ended Thursday with a 30-year sentence in a federal prison for supplying the heroin that eventually led to the medical emergency. On Thursday, U.S. Judge Sean D. Jordan in...
More Chaos in the Aftermath of Uvalde as School District's Entire Police Force Suspended

By Jacob Vaughn
Oct 10, 2022

As more details of the May 24 Robb Elementary School shooting are revealed, the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District sees more firings, retirings, and the suspension of its whole police force.
Texas Rangers and Collin County DA Investigate Death of Man Tased by Frisco Police

By Jacob Vaughn
Oct 4, 2022

Frisco Police officers tased a man, causing him to fall to the ground and sustain a fatal head injury. The Texas Rangers and Collin County District Attorney's Office are investigating the incident.
City and Dallas Police Plan to Protest Alcohol Licenses of Businesses Causing 'Public Safety Issues'

By Jacob Vaughn
Sep 29, 2022

If Dallas says your business is causing public safety issues, it may protest your license to sell alcohol.
The Dallas Police Department Is Rethinking How It Tracks Officers' Off-Duty Work

By Jacob Vaughn
Sep 27, 2022

An "outside vendor" may help the Dallas Police Department track the off-duty work of its officers.
Ex-Cop Faces a Wrongful Death Lawsuit over Fatal Shooting of Black Man in Wolfe City

By Patrick Strickland
Sep 24, 2022

On Thursday, a Hunt County jury unanimously found Shaun Lucas, a former police officer who shot and killed a Black man named Jonathan Price in October 2020, not guilty of murder. Lucas, who was fired from the Wolfe City Police Department following the incident, admitted to shooting 31-year-old Price, but...
New Lawsuit Filed Against Plano Woman Who Physically Attacked Four Indian Americans in a Viral Video

By Jacob Vaughn
Sep 22, 2022

Bidisha Rudra and her friends were the victims of a racist verbal and physical attack last month. Now, Rudra hopes a civil lawsuit will teach her attacker a lesson.
'Violent Street Crime' is Decreasing in the City, According to Dallas Police

By Jacob Vaughn
Sep 15, 2022

The Dallas Police Department says it's violent crime reduction plan has decreased "violent street crime" by 12% in the last year.
Dallas County Will Consider Replacing Lew Sterrett Justice Center

By Jacob Vaughn
Sep 14, 2022

The Lew Sterrett Justice Center's time in Dallas may be up as the county's commissioners consider replacing it.
In Hunt County, Former Police Officer Goes on Trial for Killing Jonathan Price in October 2020

By Patrick Strickland
Sep 14, 2022

On Oct. 3, 2020, police officer Shaun Lucas shot and killed Jonathan Price in Wolfe City. He's now on trial for first-degree murder.
In Texas, Judge Sentences Aryan Circle Gang Member Who Burned Off Man's Tattoo to Life in Prison

By Patrick Strickland
Sep 12, 2022

The way federal authorities tell it, Jesse Paul Blankenship burned a tattoo off another man’s skin with a metal rod he’d heated with a blowtorch. He also participated in a kidnapping and opened fire on two people in their home. Between 2010 and 2021, federal authorities say, Blankenship had “put...
Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia Says Officer on Leave After Creating Racist Coin

By Patrick Strickland
Aug 31, 2022

At a press conference Wednesday, Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia apologized after news broke that an officer had created and tried to sell a racist commemorative challenge coin. Speaking at the event with the Black Police Association of Greater Dallas, Garcia said the officer, whom he didn’t name, had been...
'Excessive Force': Dallas City Marshal Who Slammed Homeless Man Charged and Arrested

By Jacob Vaughn
Aug 5, 2022

For over a year, a homeless man named Deshode Rayvon Patton has been facing charges for resisting arrest. Now, the cop that arrested him has been arrested for allegedly falsifying details of the arrest.
Dallas Cop and Trump-Backed State House Hopeful Indicted for 'Impersonating Public Servant'

By Patrick Strickland
Jun 25, 2022

On Friday, a grand jury in Collin County indicted Dallas police officer and Texas House candidate Frederick Frazier on a third-degree felony charge of impersonating a public servant, the Dallas Police Department confirmed by email. Frazier, who works for the Dallas Police Department and is vying for House District 61’s...
Advocacy Groups Call for Change After DeeDee Hall's Death in Dallas Police Custody

By Kate Pezzulli
Jun 17, 2022

DeeDee Hall died in police custody, and her family and other organizations are calling it police brutality and discrimination