Thread by @stevanzetti

I'm at the Dallas Police Oversight Commission meeting. Packed agenda this evening.

Should be a lot of interesting discussion. Among the items is a review of Dallas Police protest policies.

Presently, item of discussion is regarding Senior Corporal Joseph Dillard, who has been involved in over 100 use of force incidents between 2013-2019. Here's a (bad quality) photo of the graph based on open portal data.

"Senior Corporal Dillard is out of step with the average use of force among police officers...he uses a lot of physical force."

"I want you all to remember he is a training officer and was an active training officer during this most recent incident."

"There were 32 cases (complaints) regarding use of force."

Some cases had multiple incidents of use of force.

Tonya McClary is recommending the board decide that Senior Corporal Dillard used excessive force during a recent incident in which he slammed a man to the ground.

Rev. Ronald Wright says several of the witnesses of the incident are afraid to say anything. Some 13 witnesses were there but only 6 have spoken to the oversight board.

Rev. Wright asks a rhetorical question: "Why would (Fowler) have been let go if the officers hadn't done something wrong?"

"He (Dillard) had the 11th highest number of use of force incidents."

That's quite telling.

McClary is now criticizing the difficulty she's faced getting information from @DallasPD, saying it requires a lot of back and forth and involves a lot of denials of requests.

One board member asks her: "So they were cooperative, but not helpful?"

McClary: "Yes."

Basically this conversation has been about the question of "how often can a police officer use force before it becomes egregious?"

The particular cop in question has 116 use of force incidents on his record during the 2013-2019 timeframe.

A board member comments on the use of open data for this report about Senior Corporal Dillard.

"I think it will be very important for our office to formally request the data we need from @DallasPD so we can track whether...they are giving you what you need to do your job."

If I heard this correctly, over 2000 (possibly 3000?!) officers have at least one use of force incident.

The meeting has taken a very Lynchian turn.

They're currently trying to play a video but no one can figure out how to make the audio work properly. As a result, it's echoing in a way that makes me feel like I'm dissociating.

Here's the immediate aftermath of Dillard slamming a man to the ground.

This has been going on for about 10-15 minutes and I am now fully dissociating.

Thank God that's over.

"I find it very troubling that the Director of the Oversight office to have to use the open source portal to do her job...it's ridiculous."

Chair of the board discusses the need to get better data access at @DallasPD.

Another member expresses concerns that the current recommendation for Senior Corporal Dillard is limited to improved training, and that they think additional actions may need to be taken.

"Based on the data, there's a pattern of excessive use of force."

The secretary clarifies the role of the board.

"The board can make a recommendation to the chief and the city manager...but they are not the final arbiter or decision maker."

Follow @cassandrajar for some great Dallas police beat reporting.

https://twitter.com/cassandrajar/status/1440454685287084036?s=19

The board is now asking about what the process is for deciding who becomes a training officer.

Technical difficulty are making it impossible to hear the representative from DPD.

"Ah, I don't know what I'm doing here...can you hear me now?"

Sgt. Dan Mosher is now detailing the process, which includes becoming a Senior Corporal, an application, and several interviews.

A part of this process includes a board review of complaints against the officer.

Several votes now unfolding regarding whether the officers used excessive force. Each incident is voted on separately.

The wording of the first motion is phrased to say that they "did not use force."

D7: Yes
D9: Yes
D13: Yes
D14: Yes

All other districts voted No. No's have it.

Losing track of the votes. But on the second motion, the phrasing is reversed.

The Yes votes won. That's two majority votes indicating they think excessive force was used.

Mr. Fowler, who was slammed on the ground by officer Dillard, speaks to the board. He is currently walking with a cane.

"I was asking for help, not asking to be hurt...I think he's straight prejudiced...I think it was a racist situation."

Here's a sample of what Mr. Fowler had to say to the board about his experience, which included an asthma attack in the back of a police car.

Now the board is moving on to an update on protest complaints and policies.

This @dallasnews article is crucial context.

dallasnews.com/news/investiga…

Director McClary is discussing how she was upset to see the news that the investigation against an officer for use of force last year was secretly dropped.

dallasnews.com/news/investiga…

McClary is discussing how many people in Dallas who participated in protests have lost faith in the police, and that many want the oversight board to be responsible for investigating complaints...

...but that the board has faced significant pushback to the idea they they should have independent responsibility to investigate police complaints.

I understand completely.

pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/…

Director McClary says she believes she needs her own legal counsel.

"It's a conflict of interest for the city attorney to be advising both the office of police oversight and the police department."

Proof of life

As I leave @CityOfDallas Hall, I cannot help but reflect upon this painting... CC: @drphillips2001, @JerryLEADS

R.L. Thornton, a prominent KKK member, is featured on the right of the painting.

centraltrack.com/is-dallas-read…