Police Chief Hall Is “Offended and Exhausted” With the Mayor. The issue started earlier this week, when Mayor Eric Johnson called the media to City Hall to talk about crime and COVID-19 (and Shingle Mountain and code compliance and Fair Park.) Jack Fink from CBS 11 asked what he wanted to see in the next police chief, as U. Reneé Hall will step down at the year’s end. He said he wanted accountability and “someone who takes what is happening in this city as it pertains to violent crime personally” and a few other things that Hall appears to have taken personally. The chief went on NBC 5 and said as much; the mayor then fired back with another statement about how he is offended by the rise in violent crime in the city and accused Hall of “picking fights in the media with elected leaders.” There have been 220 murders in the city of Dallas, which surpassed last year’s total of 210. Hall has said most of these homicides are between acquaintances, which make it difficult for police to respond before they occur. The governor is sending troopers in to help with investigations, which will free up officers to patrol. I’ll have more on this later today, but there appears to be no love lost between our police chief and our mayor as violent crime hits peaks not seen in 15 years.
Dallas Police Release New Images of Mo3’s Shooter. Melvin Noble, better known as Mo3, was chased down on Interstate 35 near the Dallas Zoo by a man who shot and killed him. Yesterday, police released images from that incident. The man is masked, but investigators hope there is enough to identify him.
Correctional Officers Being Denied Benefits After Death from COVID-19. WFAA has a really frustrating story about the state denying insurance claims to the families of correctional officers who died from COVID-19. Survivors have also been denied benefits, but the decision is particularly cruel for families who are mourning and suddenly without an income stream. The law as it’s currently written doesn’t account for a pandemic, which gives the state the power to deny those benefits. In other situations, families of first responders who die in the line of duty are eligible to receive half a million dollars. In a statement, a spokeswoman for Gov. Greg Abbott sent the following: “Governor Abbott’s heart goes out to the families of those who have lost loved ones due to COVID-19.”
No Shutdown Coming to Texas. Speaking of Gov. Abbott, the recent spike in cases won’t be enough to spur a shutdown. Abbott cited the economy as his reasoning. Across the state, new infections and hospitalizations are setting pandemic highs.
Beautiful Weekend Ahead, Mostly. There might be some showers Sunday morning, but your highs are 77 today and tomorrow and 66 on Sunday.
