Dallas chief wants review of police tactics at protest

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press


Ryan Tarinelli, Associated Press
Updated 4:10 am CDT, Wednesday, September 12, 2018

DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas police chief said she has called for a full review and plans to meet with protest leaders after learning about reports that police used pepper-spray projectiles at a demonstration over a black man's death.

Chief U. Renee Hall said in a statement Tuesday that the projectiles, which are called pepper balls and usually contain the chemical in pepper spray, should only be used if there is an immediate threat to the public or if an on-scene commander calls for them to be used. The projectiles irritate the nose and eyes.

Hall said she wants to meet with protest leaders to "address their concerns."

Monday's demonstration came a day after a white Dallas police officer, Amber Guyger, was arrested for manslaughter in the off-duty shooting death of her neighbor, 26-year-old Botham Jean. Authorities have said that Guyger said she mistook Jean's apartment for her own when she fatally shot him last week. She was released on bond.


Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/texas/article/Dallas-chief-wants-review-of-police-tactics-at-13222573.php

[Judi Lynn]

1. Dallas police respond to shooting with proactive approach

David Warren, Associated Press
Updated 5:30 am CDT, Wednesday, September 12, 2018

DALLAS (AP) — Dallas police swiftly admitted that a white officer who shot a black man in his own apartment last week had made a mistake. They expressed contrition, turned the case over to independent investigators and reached out to the victim's family.

That proactive approach appeared to tamp down anger in the community in the first few days after the killing on Sept. 6. There have been protests but not large-scale unrest since the death of Botham Jean, a native of the Caribbean island of St. Lucia who went to a Christian university in Arkansas and worked in Dallas for accounting firm PwC.

The killing by officer Amber Guyger — who told officers she believed the victim's apartment was her own — could have led to an "explosive situation" on the streets, said Frederick Haynes, pastor of a Baptist church in Dallas and vice president of the African-American Pastors Coalition.

Haynes praised the actions of Dallas Police Chief U. Renee Hall, who has been in her job only a year.

More:
https://www.chron.com/news/texas/article/Dallas-police-respond-to-shooting-with-proactive-13222544.php