On the eve of a meeting on proposed reforms of Dallas’ Citizens Police Review Board, not only will citizens not be allowed to speak but the meeting has disappeared altogether.
Last month the CPRB held a series of townhalls all across Dallas on a series of proposals to reform the board. The proposals were put together by a coalition of leftist organizations and do nothing to bring about real accountability of the police department. A number of townhall attendees expressed reservations regarding the reforms.
At the last townhall on January 17, attendees were informed that the next step would be a February 11 meeting of Dallas’ Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee at which citizens could voice their views on the proposals.
Andrea Mendoza signed up on February 1 to speak at the meeting, and received confirmation on February 4 that she was successfully scheduled.
One day later, Mendoza received an email from City of Dallas Executive Assistant Victoria Cruz, informing her that “[d]ue to the amount of items” Dallas District 10 Councilmember B. Adam McGough, the chair of the PSCJ, had “decided to not have any public speakers at this meeting.”
“Residents are more than welcome to attend the meeting and provide documentation that will be given to the councilmembers so they can review.”
Furthermore, when Mendoza checked the city calendar on February 6, she found that the scheduled meeting for the PSCJ had been removed. A photo she took of the city calendar on January 25 showed the meeting on the schedule.
This move silences citizens from speaking at the very forum they were told they could speak at regarding the controversial reforms. The city council is due to vote on the reforms sometime within the next two months.
District 10 Councilman: B. Adam McGough
Email:adam.mcgough@dallascityhall.com
Phone: 214-670-4068
