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Dallas officer picked to join President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Justice
Training, transparency, reducing crime and mental health of officers will be among the topics examined.
DALLAS - A North Texan is one of handful of people from across the nation handpicked to serve on the newly formed President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Justice.
Frederick Frazier, a Dallas police officer and McKinney city councilman, was one of 16 selected to be a part of the group.
The 1960s were rife with protests against police abuse, an unfair criminal justice system and rising crime rates. It was one several reasons then-President Lyndon Johnson empaneled the first commission on law enforcement and the administration of justice.
More than fifty years later, President Donald Trump has once again created a commission on law enforcement and justice.
“We do have a system that has flaws and we do have a system that needs help,” said Frazier. “I still had that pinch me moment… this can’t be happening, how are so many people listening to what I want to say.”
The goals: improve policing and improve trust in police. But, there are no activists on the commission.
“Thats a good question and its fair,” Frazier said when asked about the composition of the members. He said it will be addressed as the commission goes forward.
“Now we're going to start breaking that down into committee's and that could be somewhere where we could put an activist or a person that’s from the community.”
Training, transparency, reducing crime and mental health of officers will be among the topics examined.
“Wwe have a great criminal justice system,” Frazier said. “When it comes to policing, do we have bad training? Absolutely.”
Frazier said training standards should be as close to universal as possible. He also said there needs to be improvements in the wellbeing of officers.
“We’ve got to build better officers for their home. We still have a 70 percent divorce rate here in Dallas and one of the highest in the country when it comes to law enforcement. That’s a problem because that problem goes home and that problem comes back on the street,” Frazier said.
He ultimately believes that the commission can make a difference.
“There’s no way this can hurt,” Frazier said. “It’s only to build the public’s trust. It’s only to build a better officer, which goes back out there in to the community.”