Denton to form committee to review police use-of-force policies

DENTON, Texas - Denton Mayor Chris Watts will form a committee to review the city’s police use-of-force policies.

This comes after the Denton City Council approved a resolution allowing for the ad hoc committee.

It will be done as part of the “Commit to Action” initiative for police reform that is led by former President Barack Obama and the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance.

The committee, which has the support of Police Chief Frank Dixon, will review the policies, develop a report of its findings, then make recommendations to the mayor and city council by September 15.

The committee will be comprised of “diverse stakeholders and community members.”

The following groups will be invited to take part:

• Representative from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

(NAACP)

• Representative from League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)

• Representative from the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives

(NOBLE) University of North Texas College Chapter

• Representative from Denton Police Training Advisory Committee

• Representatives from University of North Texas (UNT), Texas Woman’s University

(TWU), and North Central Texas College (NCTC)

• Representatives from the LGBTQ Community

• Representatives from the Faith Community

• Representative of Persons with Disabilities

• Representative from Denton County MHMR

• Citizen Representatives from the Denton Community

• Representative from the Denton Police Officers Association (DPOA)

• Representative from the Denton Municipal Police Association (DMPA)

Chief Dixon, Denton Police Accreditation and Compliance Unit Representative Dr. Richard Williams, City Manager Todd Hileman, Deputy City Attorney Mike Cronig, and City Council Member Jesse Davis will serve as ex officio members to the committee.