\n Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux discussed officer wellness, homelessness, and downtown safety on Let\u2019s Talk Local. | Image by DX <\/p>\n
Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux says a new Dallas Police Foundation will help support officers, improve morale, and strengthen public safety efforts across the city.<\/p>\n
Comeaux joined Sarah Zubiate Bennett on Let\u2019s Talk Local to discuss the foundation, officer mental health, the department\u2019s response to homelessness, and his vision for a safer downtown Dallas.<\/p>\n
Comeaux said the idea for the foundation grew after a conversation about how Dallas could better support its police department.<\/p>\n
\u201cHouston can\u2019t have anything better than Dallas,\u201d Comeaux recalled one supporter saying during an early conversation about the need for a stronger police foundation structure.<\/p>\n
The foundation is now accepting contributions, Comeaux said, and will help fund needs that fall outside the department\u2019s regular budget.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I\u2019m really looking forward to do is when I have a certain group or certain division or office that wants something, needs something, and they feel like it can help the department or help the city, but it\u2019s really not in our budget to do it,\u201d Comeaux said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to utilize the foundation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some requests are simple but meaningful, he said. Comeaux recalled visiting one station where officers asked for chairs with two armrests.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat goes to morale,\u201d Comeaux said. \u201cIf an officer feels good, it\u2019s my belief, and you know what, it\u2019s not just my belief, I think it\u2019s fact, that they\u2019re going to work that much better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Officer Wellness<\/p>\n
Comeaux said mental health remains a major priority for the Dallas Police Department because officers regularly see traumatic situations most residents never encounter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to build a culture where it\u2019s okay to go talk to a counselor,\u201d Comeaux said. \u201cSometimes you just need to unload your toolbox.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said DPD\u2019s wellness unit helps officers process stress and stay sharp on the job.<\/p>\n
RightCare And Homeless Outreach<\/p>\n
Comeaux also discussed DPD\u2019s RightCare team, which pairs officers with trained mental health professionals on appropriate calls.<\/p>\n
He said officers still respond alone when a call involves an immediate threat, such as a person pointing a gun. But when a call involves a person who may need help and does not pose that kind of threat, a trained professional can respond with officers.<\/p>\n
The department also uses its Homeless Outreach Team, or HOT, to work with nonprofit organizations while still enforcing the law when needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to show some empathy and some compassion, but we also have to enforce the laws,\u201d Comeaux said.<\/p>\n
Downtown Safety<\/p>\n
Comeaux said downtown Dallas remains one of his top priorities and described public safety as essential to attracting businesses, residents, and investment.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne thing that I want to see stay in place when I leave is how important downtown is to the Dallas Police Department,\u201d Comeaux said.<\/p>\n
He said DPD will speak directly with business owners and entrepreneurs considering downtown Dallas.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need downtown to be safe and we need it to be vibrant. So I hope that everyone that hears this says, \u2018I want to invest in downtown,\u2019\u201d Comeaux said.<\/p>\n
Comeaux said those investors have a commitment from him and the department.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have a commitment from me as the chief of police and the Dallas Police Department that we\u2019re going to do everything to keep you safe down there,\u201d Comeaux said.<\/p>\n
Comeaux also pointed to a new joint operations center downtown, regular mounted patrols, motor units, and increased enforcement.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should be able to walk anywhere downtown and feel safe in doing that,\u201d Comeaux said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s our goal to make it that type of downtown.\u201d<\/p>\n
Watch the full conversation with Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux on Let\u2019s Talk Local.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux discussed officer wellness, homelessness, and downtown safety on Let\u2019s Talk Local. | Image…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":918887,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,1596,29401,371006,159274,14052,371007,365639,371008,5292,371009,339342,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-918886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-america","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-police-department","tag-dallas-police-foundation","tag-daniel-comeaux","tag-downtown-dallas","tag-homeless-outreach-team","tag-lets-talk-local","tag-officer-wellness","tag-public-safety","tag-rightcare","tag-sarah-zubiate-bennett","tag-texas","tag-tx","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116879512909036497","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/918886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=918886"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/918886\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/918887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=918886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=918886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=918886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}