Dallas HERO, the group behind the controversial charter amendment requiring DPD to maintain a force of at least 4,000 officers, alleges the city isn’t complying.
Dallas HERO, the group behind the controversial charter amendment requiring DPD to maintain a force of at least 4,000 officers, alleges the city isn’t complying.
Dallas HERO, the group behind the controversial charter amendment requiring DPD to maintain a force of at least 4,000 officers, alleges the city isn’t complying.
DALLAS — The upstart group behind the controversial Dallas city charter amendment that requires the city to maintain a force of at least 4,000 police officers sent notification Monday alleging that the city isn’t complying with the requirement and threatening to take the city to court over it.
Proposition U, one of two city charter amendments backed by Dallas HERO and passed by voters in November, requires the city to maintain a force of at least 4,000 officers. Dallas HERO alleged in a notification of claim Monday that the city had a force of 3,169 officers as of Feb. 7, 2025 – 831 short of what Prop U requires. Proposition U also requires earmarking at least 50% of new revenue each year to fund the Dallas Police and Fire Pension fund.
“Prop U is not a suggestion. It’s part of the city’s charter, placed there by the will of the voters. Compliance is not optional. And, City Hall has been flagrantly disregarding this legal mandate since it passed last November,” Dallas HERO Executive Director Damien LeVeck said in a statement. “If Dallas leaders do not imminently make meaningful, good faith efforts to comply with the city’s charter, we are prepared to take them to court. Our understaffed police department is fighting enough lawlessness on our streets. We cannot and will not tolerate it at City Hall.”
Back in late February, the Dallas City Council set a new hiring target for the Dallas Police Department of about 300 officers this fiscal year. That gets the department closer to meeting the requirements of Proposition U. At that time, interim police chief Michael Igo said the new targets would be difficult to reach and would likely mean taking some officers off patrol, at least temporarily, for the training program.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, my team is working extremely hard to fill recruit classes,” Igo previously told the city council. “If it was as simple as snapping my fingers to get the recruits in we would do that in a heartbeat.”
Dallas HERO, an organization backed by a GOP donor, said in the letter that the city has 60 days to meet the requirement, or until May 30, 2025, or face potential litigation.
City officials have largely remained silent in response to Dallas HERO’s legal threat.
WFAA requested an interview with the Dallas mayor and city manager. In response, the city declined to comment.
When contacted, multiple city council members either did not reply or referred inquiries to the city attorney’s office.
One councilmember said, “Due to the preposterous threat of litigation, I have been advised not to comment.”
Dallas City Council member Cara Mendelsohn told WFAA, “There is a lack of clarity in Prop U language, which makes it particularly difficult to implement. The people of Dallas have told us they want to greatly increase the number of police officers through the passage of Prop U, feedback in our annual community surveys and at town halls. I support the effort to increase our police staffing and believe we should align our budget with that resident-driven goal as our most urgent priority in the upcoming City of Dallas budget.”
Gary Griffith, Executive Chairman of Safer Dallas, said he is aligned with Mendelsohn’s views.
“My view today is DPD must hire 125 officers above attrition (that means 325 annually) each year for three years. We have one or two chief candidates, maybe more, who can think out of the recruitment and retention box and make this happen,” Griffith said.
The Dallas Police Department released a new recruitment video on its Facebook page just hours after Dallas HERO sent its letter.
Sheldon Smith, president of the National Black Police Association Dallas Chapter, emphasized the need for competitive pay and pension benefits to attract recruits. Requirements to become a police officer would likely need to be lowered, too.
“The Dallas Police Department has to make a good faith effort to make sure it gets done as well,” Smith said. “And obviously, that hasn’t happened yet.”
Smith also pointed out the financial trade-offs necessary to meet the Proposition U staffing requirements.
“That cost is maybe some of the things that you want, some of the beautiful buildings and parks that we’re investing in. Maybe that money needs to be moved in that direction,” he said.
Smith emphasized that he believes voters supported Proposition U because of dissatisfaction with police response times.
“Citizens aren’t happy because we’re taking so long in order to respond to calls,” he said.
Former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk criticized Dallas HERO’s legal approach, stating, “I maintain that if Dallas HERO is interested in making the city safer, they would be making an effort to work with the city rather than threatening them with this irresponsible litigation.”
At the upcoming City Council meeting on Wednesday, Igo is expected to discuss a new law enforcement training center, which could aid recruitment efforts. The next Public Safety Committee meeting is scheduled for April 14, though it remains unclear if Proposition U will be on the agenda.
Monday’s letter isn’t the first time Dallas HERO has threatened to sue the city.
Monty Bennett, a hotelier and GOP donor who’s supported the Dallas HERO initiative, previously said the group may sue the city to force compliance with Proposition U back in January.
Bennett is also the publisher of the Dallas Express, which, before the November election, published no fewer than 20 articles on Dallas HERO’s proposals since mid-July of last year.
In December, Dallas HERO also alleged the city has failed to enforce a state law forbidding camping on public property and threatened to sue over it.