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Patrol Officer
Citizen D
Jack McNulty
Jack & Ralph
Ralph to JWP
Mary Lou Montes Zijderveld
| | 08/07/03 Meetings, Studies and
Sellouts
The past few days have been a blur of
shock, bewilderment and dismay. Unfortunately, there's no sign things are going to
improve any time soon.
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We get the news that Dallas is the nation's #1 crime city. Our inept Chief
of Police (who keeps his job at the will of our inept City MisManager) says the
numbers are not true. If they are true, it's not his fault, because it's
really the citizens' fault for reporting too many crimes.
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James
Northrup:
Council's response to the crime problem simply
reflects the Chief's. What else do they think we expect of them ? |
Under that rationale, our crime problems will be solved if citizens stop
reporting car break-ins, muggings, assaults, rapes, robberies and stop getting
themselves murdered. Basically, the Chief wants citizens to stop making
themselves targets for the bad guys and to stop reporting crimes they really
brought on themselves by venturing out of their homes.
The very next day, we learned that Beat that Indictment James Fantroy is
appointing Convicted Bribe Taker Old Al Lipscomb to the Police Review
Board. Shameless makes it pretty clear
where DallasArena.com stands on that
outrageous idea.
Even the DMN 's Editorial Board had to pull their heads out of
the sand for a little bit to weigh in against Old Al serving on
even this obscure city board. |
Gary
Turner:
Regarding his supposed surprising nomination of convicted felon Al
Lipscomb to the Police Review Board, I'm sure Mr. Fantroy is well aware
the board holds no true power.
Chief Bolton has shown complete contempt for the
board. He won't even meet with board members, much less respond to
written requests. The Chief formed the same kind of board for
concerned citizens of the Bachman Lake area a couple of years ago.
That board served the same purpose as the current Police Review Board
serves -- to waste time for the citizens who participate.
Until the Mayor and the entire council decide that Dallas
needs a Police Review Board with true power, the pseudo-Review Board
will remain ineffective.
So, it really makes no difference if Al Lipscomb serves on
the board or not.
Yes, it 'looks' bad, but that's about it. The
Lipscomb nomination shouldn't be any surprise. It's the type of
thing that's now expected. |
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Editorial:
Police Review Board:
Controversial appointment wouldn't
help
08/06/2003 |
The
Dallas Citizens Police Review Board needs more power.
But it won't come from the lightning rod that will be created
if former Dallas City Council member Al Lipscomb is appointed to the
board.
Mr. Lipscomb is a civil rights advocate who spent 26 months
in home confinement before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
overturned his bribery conviction and ordered a new trial based on a
federal judge's decision to transfer the case to Amarillo. In
doing so, the appeals court didn't address the merits of the 65-count
indictment that prompted the trial in 2000. . . . |
Thank goodness they finally said the appeals
court overturned the conviction on a technicality. No one said Old Al is
innocent of the charges, just that the Judge should not have moved the trial to
Amarillo. Well, no one is saying Old Al is innocent except Old Al, who
confessed in Court that he took bribes as a councilman.
Even if BTI Fantroy withdraws the nomination (which he is too much a coward to
do) or Old Al declines the appointment (which he is too stupid and arrogant to
do), we still have an out-of-control crime problem in this town because we have
a Chief of Police who is completely in over his head. Here's an entry from
www.Undergroundcop.com that gives a
short, but sweet history of the rise and fall of Sgt. Terrell Bolton to King of
the Hill:
An
ill wind blowing since 1988
Posted by *August 6, 2003, 10:02 pm
Repeating an earlier post:
There has been an ill wind blowing since 1988.
In 1988, Mack "the Knife" Vines was the Chief of Police who
piloted our little boat into treacherous waters by embracing and
advocating an aggressive Affirmative Action Plan that affected the
hiring, assignment and promotion of employees in the ranks that were
supposed to be protected by our Civil Service Laws.
Although the Plan was later ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme
Court, it was in effect for 10 years, and its devastating and
debilitating effects are quite visible in the Department today.
Why even His High Absurdity was a beneficiary of these ill gotten gains.
Remember his meteoric rise not through but OVER the ranks. He was a
Sergeant promoted to one Star, promoted to two Stars, promoted to four
Stars.
What were/are his professional qualifications again, which high profile
units did he ever command? Oh yeah, NONE!
When he made Sergeant he was assigned to the Silly Manager's Office,
where he learned the corrupt art of cultivating the favor of
politicians.
Upon assuming the helm, His High Handedness, made the Captain of the
Titanic look like a maritime genius. Terrell has pirated our boat from
treacherous waters toward a descent into a maelstrom.
To the Terrible One, the whirlpool of diversity was the final
destination to be sought at the exclusion of all others including
competency and integrity. In fact, competency and integrity are not even
on his Charts. Thus, today there is a command staff composed of Tweedle
Dee and Tweedle Dum (or is it Dumber), the March Hare, the Walrus, the
Cheshire Cat, etc., etc. All the inhabitants of Wonderland are
wearing Stars and their decisions make about as much sense as the Mad
Hatter's.
Appearances are the paramount concern for this Tea Party. So, all troops
must busy themselves with nonsensical assignments like "painting
the roses red." Be careful not to get involved in a controversial
situation or shooting however, because with this King of Hearts you will
experience "first the verdict then the trial" followed by
"Off with their Heads!"
When will the citizens demand that Silly Government remove this impostor
from the seat of power?
Curiouser and curiouser! |
Most posts on www.UndergroundCop.com
are anonymous to protect the officers from retaliation, but the author of this
piece certainly could have a regular spot on DallasArena.com. Funny and
factual and frightening.
So, what's the solution to our Crime Problem? Well, the Mayor's going to
have a bunch of meetings with the Chief. Since neither of them are
qualified to run a Police Department those meetings will be a colossal waste of
time, but they are supposed to show everybody's working on the problem.
What's the council going to do about it? Well, the 4 African-Americans
have already dug their heels in the sand. Protecting Chief TB is more
important than protecting the citizens of Dallas.
It takes 11 votes out of 15 to fire the City MisManager. Neither Loza or
Garcia or Salazar want to vote to remove the first Hispanic City Manager.
Chaney, Fantroy, Hill and Thornton-Reese know Ted Benavides (the other case of
TB) is the gatekeeper to Bolton's job, and they are certainly not going to
support firing him. Protecting Chief TB is more important than getting
this city back on track. That's 7 votes to cover Bolton's sizeable rear.
That must be why Loza came up with his loony idea for an efficiency study of the
Police Department. Right! We are flat broke. Can't give our
civilian employees raises. Council is probably going to delay the 2003 5%
raise for police and firefighters. And we are going to spend hundreds of
thousands on an efficiency study that is just going to say we have a lousy Chief
of Police who has a lousy command staff.
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Police
study sougth; Councilman
questions DPD's efficiency after crime spike reported
08/05/2003
By JASON TRAHAN / The Dallas Morning News |
.
. . Council member John Loza called the FBI figures ranking Dallas
No. 1 in crimes per capita among cities with more than 1 million people
for the last five years "unacceptable."
"We need a top to bottom efficiency study," Mr.
Loza told Police Chief Terrell Bolton during a meeting of the council's
Public Safety Committee, where the chief gave members an overview on
crime. "Chief, that's not a criticism of you,
but we need to make sure we're working efficiently."
. . . Dallas Police Association president Glenn White said an
efficiency study, which has been proposed before, would not help the
Police Department get better.
"They need to take the money
they'll waste on that and hire more officers," he said.
Mr. Loza urged council members to find money in the budget to
hire more officers, as well as study New York City and its crime-reduction
campaign.
. . . Several council members criticized Chief Bolton for the spike
in crime this year.
. . . Council member Maxine Thornton-Reese said she was
"appalled" at her colleague's characterization of Dallas.
"Dallas is safer than it seems,"
Dr. Thornton-Reese said, adding that statistics can be manipulated.
"We must have community involvement."
. . . Chief Bolton said. "We live in Dallas. As a chief, when I
lay down at night, I want to be sure we are doing all we can.
"Dallas is a great place to live, work and play. We're
not going to look good in every statistic and every story you read. [But]
the facts tell you that we're not doing that bad." |
If TB doesn't think things are "that bad", wonder what could get his
attention?
Even if an efficiency study finds
hundreds of reasons to remove Chief TB, it will not happen because the City
MisManager knows he goes when Bolton goes.
But, look on the bright side. We are #1 in crime, and we are about to sell
our city parks and facilities to the highest bidders. It will be a
discount sale.
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City
studies 'creative' income plan;
Sponsorships,
naming rights may help Dallas balance next budget
08/05/2003
By COLLEEN McCAIN NELSON /
The Dallas Morning News |
.
. . council members are hoping that corporate sponsorships will help
balance next year's budget.
. . . Dallas employees could be chatting on a city-approved
cellphone while sipping the official soda of Dallas. Residents could find
advertising stuffed in their water bills, posted at their parks and even
emblazoned on city equipment.
. . . First Assistant City Manager Mary Suhm said. "Maybe some
company would like all of Dallas' parks to be mowed with their lawn
mowers."
. . . Several City Council members said they support the idea, but a
few questioned whether facilities named for city fathers would be forsaken
in favor of honoring the highest bidder.
"I would have a problem naming parks or recreation
centers or libraries after a product," Mayor Pro Tem John Loza
said.
. . . "Dallas plans to hire an outside firm to take inventory
of buildings, parks and equipment that could provide moneymaking
opportunities.
. . . Two years ago, Oak Farms Dairy bought the rights to the Latino
Cultural Center's performance hall for $1 million. . . . after
controversy quashed plans to sell the rights to Jose Cuervo's parent
company,
. . . City Manager Ted Benavides has included $2 million from
sponsorships and naming rights in his proposed budget for the fiscal year
that begins Oct. 1.
Mr. Loza said he was uneasy about projecting $2 million in
revenue from a program that did not exist.
"I think this is a good idea," he said. "I
just think we're being wildly optimistic." |
From absolutely wrong on the Police
Department efficiency study, John Loza is completely right on this crass
and classless sellout of our city. We can't censor, you know. Had
Jose Cuervo wanted to raise a ruckus before over the Latino Cultural Center, we
would have been in big trouble.
Can't you see it now? Baby Dolls and other sex clubs would buy advertising
spots on our squad cars. Each club could sponsor 3 or 4 squad cars.
Put those rear boards on the squad cars like the taxi cabs have. Really
wonderful!
Our police and firefighters can wear corporate logos on the backs of their
uniforms or as swatches on their shirt sleeves..
Bill Gordon had the idea of the council renting their foreheads for little
stickers promoting different sponsors.
Wildly optimistic is an understatement! We are the country's #1 crime capital.
Why would any respectable company want to be associated with us just now?
Look at the sponsors stepping away from Kobe Bryant. (What was Mark
Cuban thinking?)
Selling our city to sponsors is a dumb idea. Mayor Pro Tem Loza is to be
commended for expressing his concerns. Why can't that clear thinking carry
over to our crime problems?
We don't need meetings with Terrell Bolton. We need to replace him.
We don't need an efficiency study of the Police Department. We need a new
Chief of Police.
We do not need to sell out our city. We need to manage our business better
with a new City Manager.
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