Dallas police chief: Data shows race does not impact when, how DPD uses force
Dallas police chief Eddie Garcia
DALLAS - For the first time, Dallas police are giving the public a comprehensive look at use of force by its officers.
Dallas police chief Eddie Garcia says one big takeaway from the data is that race does not factor into his officers' decisions on when and how to use force.
The report analyzed historical data from 2014 through 2020 and went more in-depth on incidents in 2021.
Chief Garcia says the third-party review supports his belief that Dallas residents should be proud of their police officers.
"I think they can rest assured, again, at the point where our officers are using force to arrest," Garcia said. "Racial disparities don't exist, and I think that's important for our community to know."
The report includes data like time and location, the type of force used, injuries or fatalities, and information about race, gender and age.
Featured
Dallas police body camera shows officer shooting armed suspect during struggle
Dallas police released body camera video of an officer shooting an armed man over the weekend.
Garcia says the data will be helpful to analyze where the department is successful and how they can improve.
"We are going to make mistakes, there’s no question about it, and we will hold ourselves accountable when we do," Garcia said.
The information will be kept on an online dashboard, which will be updated with more recent use of force incidents on a quarterly basis.
Use of force: https://dallaspolice.net/reports/Pages/force-analysis-data.aspx
Officer-involved shootings: https://dallaspolice.net/ois/ois