Report: Dallas PD's Internal Investigation Policies Needs Streamlined

DALLAS — The Dallas Police Department’s investigations into officer misconduct are governed by conflicting and vague policies and procedures that need to be streamlined, according to a report obtained by The Dallas Morning News.

The review into the internal affairs division found more than 400 misconduct investigations since 2018 took longer than 90 working days, the standard spelled out in DPD policies. The department now plans to implement a series of changes, including revising policies, enhancing accountability mechanisms, streamlining the internal investigation review process and allowing a new way for people to track the status of such investigations.

“This is another important step in our ongoing efforts to maintain transparency and implement best practices,” reads a statement from Interim Dallas police Chief Michael Igo, who signed off on the recommendations last month.

The report obtained by The News is the first major analysis by the Dallas Police Department’s constitutional policing unit, which works with experts to identify where internal policies and training fall short. Started under former Chief Eddie García in 2023, the unit reviews best law enforcement practices nationwide to recommend adjustments for Dallas police.

Sr. Cpl. Jaime Castro, president of the Dallas Police Association, said the study reveals what the association has long alleged to be true: the long length of time it takes supervisors to review internal findings.

“When a department takes years to investigate any complaint, you have lost the ability to teach and take corrective action,” Castro said. “You have now created an officer who is upset with his or her department because you have frozen his or her career with the inability to move forward professionally.

“We hope that the department takes these findings seriously, and works with the DPA to ensure that IAD is overhauled in a manner that is fair to our membership.”

The constitutional policing unit worked with Alex del Carmen, an associate dean of the school of criminology at Tarleton State University, to analyze data from 2018 to 2023. The limited scope review, del Carmen told The News, was a “critical first step in ensuring that the Dallas Police Department’s internal oversight mechanisms align with national best practices.”

“The Dallas Police Department is demonstrating its leadership in the industry and building a framework for proactive self-assessment and correction,” del Carmen said. “These CPU units should exist in every department in order to address any issues and engage in self correction, if necessary.”

Officer discipline is usually based on Internal Affairs Division findings. The division is separate from the public integrity unit, which investigates criminal allegations, but those cases also typically end up back at internal affairs before discipline is rendered. The News uncovered in a 2023 investigation how some of the department’s internal investigative practices weren’t up to federal standards.

“There’s nobody or anything on Earth that is 100%, but our goal is to get to 100%,” Anthony Greer, who has been the major over the internal affairs division since August 2024, told the city’s Community Police Oversight Board on Tuesday. He said police will implement 17 key areas of improvement outlined in the report, which the department intends to make public on Friday.

Report findings

The analysis found 68% of internal affairs investigations were ready for review by the division commander within 90 working days. That means 32% — or 464 cases — were not completed within the timeline laid out in the department’s own standards, according to the report.

The Dallas Police Association strongly disputes that 68% of investigations were ready within 90 working days, Castro told The News. The validity of the findings is dependent on the accuracy of the internal affairs processing data, which is manually entered “often retroactively” into the database used by the division, he said, citing a footnote in the report.

“There’s no other unit or division in the department where failing to comply with 32% of the standard operating procedures would be tolerated,” Castro said.

That span also excludes the time it takes an employee’s supervisors to review a case and recommend discipline. The median duration for that process was 76 calendar days, the report said.

During an ongoing investigation, an accused police employee is usually put on paid administrative leave, restricted duty or can work as normal, but opportunities such as promotions are limited. The people who submit the complaints are also kept in limbo.

Del Carmen said the constitutional policing unit found internal affair’s compliance rate was reasonable because of the complexity of some investigations. “The most significant delays,” he said, “stemmed from procedural inefficiencies rather than intentional delays.”

The report’s other major findings include:

•Internal affairs follows directives in three separate places, some of which are contradictory, unclear, missing steps or inaccurate. Those discrepancies hinder oversight and accountability.

•Accused employees and people who submit complaints don’t have a way to track the status of internal investigations, leading to frustration.

•There is no clear accountability for maintaining the database that contains internal investigative records.

•The division has struggled to maintain full staffing levels, which impacts investigation timelines.

•DPD lays out minimum discipline guidelines for only seven policy violations. Austin police have guidelines for 49 different violations and Houston police for 123 violations. The report recommended that DPD create new discipline matrices, but internal affairs argued that the “current matrices will need to be consistently applied” first.

•43 cases took longer than a calendar year to process. Twenty-one of them were officer-involved shooting, custodial death or inappropriate/unnecessary use-of-force investigations. Those take more time because they are the most complex, the report noted, and could call for review from agencies like the district attorney’s office and medical examiner.

The length of internal affairs investigations has been under scrutiny before, including when a case went viral in 2023 about a disabled veteran denied access to a Deep Ellum pizza joint’s restroom. DyNell Lane, a retired Army sergeant who was wounded while deployed abroad, then soiled himself. Body-camera footage caught four Dallas police officers laughing about him later.

The internal affairs division first declined to open an investigation into Lane’s complaint. After Dallas’ Community Police Oversight Board publicly reviewed the body-camera footage and The News broke the story about the case, the division opened an investigation — but did not discipline the officers until nine months after Lane submitted his complaint. The officers got written reprimands four days after The News published an investigation about the delays.

The constitutional policing unit compared Dallas police to law enforcement agencies that adjusted their internal affairs divisions after settlements or consent decrees, otherwise known as court orders that mandate reform when the justice department found evidence of misconduct.

New Orleans and Baltimore police, both under federal consent decrees, mandate internal investigations be done within 90 calendar days, the report said. Spurred by settlement agreements, Yonkers police in New York stipulates internal investigations are done within 45 calendar days, and the Portland Police Department’s span is 180 calendar days, the report said.

Steps forward

The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, the state agency that certifies police officers, is also implementing a new standard: By June 1, Texas police agencies will be required to finish misconduct investigations within 180 calendar days, with some exceptions.

Del Carmen said the constitutional policing unit’s recommendation is for the Dallas Police Department to standardize and be consistent on the number of days it takes for an investigation to be completed, which should adhere to that TCOLE standard.

Internal affairs needs protocols to monitor compliance with timelines, including required explanations for delays and breakdowns of incomplete cases after 90 business days, according to the report.

Moving forward, the constitutional policing unit also recommended internal affairs’ written standards be updated and the division add civilian staff to augment its core of sworn officers. The review found that 358 investigations since 2018 could’ve been handled by professional staff with human resource experience instead of officers.

Del Carmen said a major focus will be improving transparency and efficiency in investigations, including allowing people to track case progress in real time.

“This project is about more than just policy updates,” del Carmen said. “It’s about building community trust, ensuring accountability and making sure internal investigations meet the highest standards of fairness and efficiency.”

The review was praised by Michele Andre, Dallas’ police monitor, who said it had critical insights into procedural clarity, data accountability and investigation timelines. The oversight office supports the recommendations, she said, and is committed to “ensuring that internal investigative systems are fair, efficient, and aligned with best practices in constitutional policing.”

Castro also praised progress made by current police leadership, including Igo and Greer, and the department’s collaboration with the police oversight office.

“We look forward to continuing to work with them to bring resolution to these findings,” he said.

Igo said the recommendations “are currently being implemented.” While there is no specific timeline, he said, “we are committed to addressing these changes sooner rather than later.”

“I’m incredibly proud of the work being done by the Constitutional Policing Unit,” the interim chief said. “I look forward to their continued contributions in strengthening our commitment to accountability and fairness.”

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