New Dallas police unit focuses on transparency, accountability for officers
DALLAS - The Dallas Police Department is creating a new Constitutional Policing Unit.
It will be a first-of-its-kind unit dedicated to ensuring the department is upholding the rights of citizens.
Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia discussed the creation of the unit at a city council committee meeting on Monday.
Dallas City Council members showed their support for the unit focused on transparency and accountability.
"I am thrilled to see that there will be an office focused on this," said Dallas City Councilwoman Kathy Stewart.
"Coming from the PR world, I can tell you when you have a PR crisis, it takes 7 years to undo it and it doesn't have to happen in Dallas, this could be anywhere across the country. And in fact there have been multiple episodes across the country, yet we live in a cloud of this and our officers do," said Councilwoman Gay Donnell Willis.
Chief Garcia explained the beating death of Tyre Nichols by a specialized police unit in Memphis is one of the reasons behind his DPD initiative.
Tyre Nichols' death: Federal charges filed against 5 former officers
Five former Memphis police officers are now facing federal civil rights charges in the beating death of Tyre Nichols as they continue to fight second-degree murder charges in state courts arising from the killing.
The Nichols case led some police departments to dismantle specialized units that work in high-crime areas.
In July, Garcia showed off a different approach: a tactical training group.
The most-seasoned officers teach the best practices to all specialized units: SWAT, fugitive, the gang unit, narcotics, special patrol units and the community response team.
Going a step further, the new Constitutional Policing Unit will also train officers to be active bystanders.
"Which enables officers to know what to look for, what to do, when they see their partner officer doing something that tarnishes our badge," said Chief Garcia.
It also includes something very unusual for police training. The unit will also teach officers the dark side of police history.
"There is a reason that some communities have distrust in the police department, and there are historical facts that have occurred that we have been our own worst enemy," Garcia said.
Dallas Police more recently came under fire for specific incidents of heavy-handed reaction to the George Floyd protests.
READ MORE: 3 officers indicted on charges related to George Floyd protests in Dallas
"After the George Floyd demonstrations and protests, the creation of dedicated response group for demonstrations, the fact that CS may only be deployed following approval by me," said Garcia.
The department will now require all officers to wear a body camera, including all task forces and officers working off-duty jobs.
The Constitutional Policing Unit will have a website and database that will launch next year.
The unit will also be responsible for presenting an annual report to the Dallas City Council.
Chief Garcia said he also wants police misconduct investigations to take no longer than one year.