After violence surged in Dallas and the Dallas Police Department requested aid from the state government, on November 18 Texas GOP governor Greg Abbott directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to provide support, including sending Special Agents and State Troopers.
Now Texas activists have lashed out, calling Abbott’s plan to send help “state-sanctioned violence,” among other criticism. That prompted Texas GOP senator Ted Cruz to blast them, writing, “This is nuts. As Dallas murder rates surge to historic highs, radical activists are calling Texas State Troopers ‘Occupying Forces’ and ‘State Sanctioned Violence.’ Stop demonizing the police, whose job it is to keep everyone safe.”
This is nuts. As Dallas murder rates surge to historic highs, radical activists are calling Texas State Troopers “Occupying Forces” and “State Sanctioned Violence.”
Stop demonizing the police, whose job it is to keep everyone safe. https://t.co/lbnsLK0eU4
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) November 25, 2020
When Abbott announced his plan, he stated, “The rise in violent crime in the city of Dallas is unacceptable, and the Texas Department of Public Safety will assist the Dallas Police Department in their efforts to protect the community and reduce this surge in crime. Every Texan deserves to feel safe in their own community, and the State of Texas will continue to provide the city of Dallas with the resources they need to crack down on this heinous activity and protect Dallas residents,” as CBS DFW reported.
“DPD’s effort to target the city’s rising murder count includes the search for suspects who may be responsible for killings last weekend, that appear to be random attacks,” CBS DFW added.
Dallas has had roughly 220 homicides this year; Dallas mayor Eric Johnson approved of Abbott sending help.
The Dallas Police Department added, “The Dallas Police Department is working in conjunction with our state and federal partners to address the increase in violent crime in our city. Their involvement will be from an investigative capacity and not from a field operation or enforcement standpoint. Recently, there has been an uptick in violence surrounding entertainers that cross multi-jurisdictional boundaries. The top priority in this joint effort is the safety and well-being of our residents in the city of Dallas.”
Activists were furious about the additional help: Dr. Fredrick Haynes D. Haynes of Friendship West Baptist Church snapped, “We don’t need occupying forces here in the city of Dallas in order to combat crime,” CBS DFW reported.
Kristian Hernandez of Our City Our Future: “We offer no pretense that Governor Abbott’s deployment of Texas state troopers and a contention of Texas Rangers which has been applauded by our own mayor Eric Johnson is nothing more than state-sanctioned violence.”
“Writing tickets in West Texas speed traps is not the same as policing neighborhoods in South Dallas and Oak Cliff,” echoed John Fullinwider of Mothers Against Police Brutality. “It came out to more than 11,000 traffic citations to working people in South Dallas. They made more than 500 arrests. Even though only one out of four people in Dallas is black, two out of three of those arrests were of black citizens of Dallas.”
Eric Johnson stated:
My focus is on the people affected by the unacceptable increases in violent crime in our city. Victims of violence in Dallas are disproportionately people of color who live in historically underserved neighborhoods like the ones where I grew up. All of our residents deserve to live in safe communities, and I welcome any help we can get on their behalf.
He added, “Throughout my career in public service, I have advocated for both short-term and long-term approaches to strengthening our neighborhoods that will reduce our dependence on law enforcement. But make no mistake: we must have robust, responsible, and accountable community policing to help keep all the people of Dallas safe.”