Kevin Tarver wants justice. Months before the world learned the names George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks and Breonna Taylor, Denton police shot and killed his son Darius. A 23-year-old University of North Texas student, Darius Tarver was a criminal justice major and on the dean’s list. He was part of the…
From 1956 to 1971, the FBI actively tried to subvert civil rights and New Left movements through often illegal means. Among its many targets were activist groups in North Texas. The name of the project was the Counter Intelligence Program, which was syllabically abbreviated to COINTELPRO. Most of the FBI’s…
Even in the blistering heat, people turned out in Reverchon Park on Saturday for the 16th day of protests in Dallas against police brutality. The event, organized by local nonprofit Next Generation Action Network, was dubbed a Black State of Emergency. Organizers urged attendees to vote, discussed defunding the police…
On the evening of June 1, hundreds of protesters left a rally at the Frank Crowley Courts Building, just outside the city’s curfew zone, and marched north on Riverfront Boulevard. They carried signs calling for justice for George Floyd, a black man killed last month by a Minneapolis police officer,…
Wednesday morning, after dozens of players, teams and leagues stepped out first, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott decided it was time to speak out about the death of George Floyd and the relationship between police and the black communities they are supposed to serve. “As a Black Multiracial American, I…
At least John Cornyn has an excuse. President Donald Trump has never implied that the Texas senator’s wife was ugly, or that his dad helped kill John F. Kennedy, as he has with Cornyn’s Senate colleague and fellow Republican Ted Cruz. Still, it’s been a little surprising how quickly Texas’ senior…
Dallas is expanding the area covered by a curfew order, city officials announced Tuesday afternoon. The newly expanded curfew zone includes Trinity Groves and West Village. It also now includes the Frank Crowley Courts Building, where a demonstration began Monday evening, and the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, where police detained…
Chief U. Renee Hall on Tuesday morning defended the police department’s handling of a protest that ended in a mass detainment Monday night on the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. During the demonstration, police allowed hundreds of protesters to march into the westbound lanes of the bridge at about 8:30 p.m…
A peaceful protest in Dallas against police brutality ended with hundreds of demonstrators, their hands zip-tied behind their backs, being detained by police on the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. As they laid on their stomachs waiting for instructions, one protester yelled repeatedly, “We can’t win!” A last-minute change Monday night…
Dallas police are investigating incidents in which police officers used force against two people Sunday, putting both people in the hospital. Both incidents occurred on Main Street in downtown Dallas during Sunday’s protest against police brutality. The first incident happened at 4 p.m. near Pegasus Plaza. The second was at…
While Dallas initially saw peaceful protests turn into violence, arrests and a curfew around downtown, the weekend ended with a vocal but placid march downtown. Clergy members from throughout Dallas gathered with residents in front of Dallas Police headquarters starting at 5 p.m. Sunday. The crowd bowed their heads as…
A Tarrant County grand jury has indicted former Texas Rangers star outfielder Josh Hamilton for injury to a child causing intentional bodily injury, a third-degree felony, the Observer confirmed Wednesday afternoon. Hamilton is accused of attacking his oldest daughter in September. He turned himself in after initially being charged in late…
Three and a half years after stepping down as chief of the Dallas Police Department, David Brown has been named to lead Chicago’s police force. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Brown’s selection Thursday afternoon. “We are Chicago and we deserve the best,” Lightfoot said. “In this time, in this moment,…
A Dallas County grand jury has indicted two Dallas County Sheriff’s Office deputies who are accused of looting a Home Depot on Forest Lane in Dallas following the Oct. 20 tornado that destroyed the home improvement store and much of the surrounding area. Owners of the Home Depot hired Sgt. Rebecca…
Hats off, thank you, sincere gratitude, honest admiration, respect and kudos to WFAA Channel 8 for admitting publicly they were totally full of it Nov. 15 in their story about the famous notorious car wash on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in South Dallas. WFAA reporters David Goins and David…
A Dallas County jury found Desmond Jones guilty Friday afternoon of engaging in criminal activity, a first-degree felony, for his role in the kidnapping and murder of 13-year-old Shavon Randle in 2017. The jury deliberated for about three hours. According to prosecution witnesses, Jones and a trio of associates —…
Shaquana Persley, Shavon Randle’s mother, told jurors Thursday that her daughter had just celebrated her 13th birthday with a hotel pool party, two days before she was kidnapped, shot and killed in an alleged post-drug robbery revenge plot. “They had some fun,” Persley said, smiling as she remembered her daughter,…
It may be a small step, but Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is putting a little of his money where his mouth is on criminal justice reform. Thursday afternoon, the governor announced a specialized clemency application process for Texas Department of Corrections inmates who were victims of sex trafficking or domestic…
A little over a year ago, The Dallas Morning News hired a new editorial page editor, Brendan Miniter, from the (George W.) Bush Presidential Center (Library) in Dallas. Ever since, the page has been embarrassing. And I guess it would be fair to wonder who is embarrassed. Clearly not the…
David Brown, the former Dallas police chief, is one of a handful of candidates being seriously considered to be Chicago’s next top cop, the Tribune reported on Thursday. The Chicago Police Board is reviewing candidates and will select three to forward to the mayor. Other top prospects include a deputy…
A former Dallas Police Department officer was found not guilty Thursday of charges related to a 2017 shooting in which he killed a woman at an Old East Dallas apartment complex. After deliberating for two days, a Dallas County jury acquitted Christopher Hess, 42, of a single count of aggravated…
Last week an attorney for indicted Dallas housing developer Ruel Hamilton filed a federal court document (see below) describing “outrageous government conduct” by FBI agents going after Hamilton. Outrageous government conduct is a legal term. But let me tell you what’s outrageous to me as a non-lawyer. I’ve been out…
