Dallas Raises Hiring Goal to 300 Officers; Some Want to Go Higher

The Dallas City Council on Wednesday approved raising police hiring goals from 250 to 300 this fiscal year, siding with recommendations from the city’s top cop and largest police association over a push from some council members to raise the new officer benchmark to 400.

The council voted 12-2 to revise the hiring target for new police officers on a timeline that began last October and runs through the end of September. Several council members said despite a recent voter-approved charter mandate to boost police ranks by around 900, concerns raised about the city’s capacity to train more than 300 recruits properly this year and possible impacts it could have on response times and crime rates trumped setting a higher number.

“We have not heard from anyone in law enforcement in our city that has requested for this number to go higher than what our chief has said is most feasible within the department,” said Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Adam Bazaldua, who also read a letter from Dallas Police Association President Jaime Castro in support of the 300 new police officer goal. “I think it would be a slap in the face to the department for any one of us to say that we know better than them.”

The number is ultimately nonbinding, he added, and wouldn’t stop the city from hiring more than 300 by the fall if possible.

Council member Cara Mendelsohn, who chairs the council’s public safety committee, first proposed the 400 tally earlier this month. She cited public demand for more officers and the results of November’s election as a clear message from voters that the city should ramp up efforts to hire more cops. The committee ultimately approved a lower benchmark of 325, which was lowered again to 300 on Wednesday. Other committee recommendations to increase police hiring goals to 350 next fiscal year and 400 in the fiscal year after were dropped.

“[Residents] know response times are too long, and they’re demanding us to act to make Dallas a safer city,” said Mendelsohn, who, along with council member Jesse Moreno, voted no to the 300 officer goal. “I hear people from all over the city asking us, ‘We need more cops. How can you make this happen?’ Well, the only way we can have more police is if we actually hire them. It’s not that complicated.”

Mayor Eric Johnson was absent from Wednesday’s City Council meeting and didn’t vote. Mendelsohn and Moreno suggested the city consider rehiring retiree officers and using reserve officers to help fill gaps. Mendelsohn added the department might not hit the bar at 325, “but I want to see them do everything possible to try.”

Council member Gay Donnell Willis called that remark “insulting to our law enforcement.” Bazaldua and council member Omar Narvaez said the police department was being used as “political pawns” ahead of the May 3 City Council elections.

“I don’t know how this isn’t performative if we’re not going to set realistic goals,” Bazaldua said.

“For us to do that, knowing that it is not obtainable of a goal to me, is misleading and it’s just dishonest to the public.”

Interim police Chief Michael Igo told the council he was confident the department could hire 280 to 300 new officers by the end of September. He again warned increasing the numbers would likely mean pulling patrol officers off the streets to ensure recruits are trained properly, which could lead to further delays in response times and impact crime rates.

“All I’ve asked since over the last several committees is that if we move the mark, give us time to get those resources in place where it doesn’t affect our communities,” he said.

The police hiring goal discussion comes amid voters approving two charter amendments impacting the city government’s operations. Proposition S requires the city to waive its governmental immunity and allows any resident to file a lawsuit alleging the municipal government isn’t complying with the charter, local ordinances or state law. Proposition U requires the City Council to approve setting aside at least 50% of any excess yearly revenue for the police and fire pension system, mandate the city maintain a minimum of 4,000 officers while increasing police starting pay and other benefits to among the highest in North Texas.

The police department has around 3,160 officers. For the last few years, it set hiring goals of 250 but largely missed the mark until last year. At the same time, the department loses nearly as many cops as it hires annually.

Damien LeVeck, executive director of Dallas Hero, the nonprofit that created and backed the two propositions, said the city needed to set hiring goals to make 4,000 officers possible “in three to five years.” He urged city officials to “get creative.”

“I’ve got three little kids, and they often tell me they can’t do something, and I tell them, you can do hard things,” LeVeck told the council. “And I believe that this council and this city can do this hard thing.”

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