re: #476 CuriousLurker

CNN did an interesting piece on Dallas police chief David Brown over the weekend. He’s see a lot of tragedy in his life: He grew up in a rough area in Dallas and understands first-hand what it’s like to distrust the police, but decided he wanted to make a difference, so he joined the DPD in 1983. Five years later—in 1998—a former partner died in the line of duty. In 1991, his younger brother was killed by drug dealers in Phoenix. A few weeks after he was sworn in as chief in 2010 a young father and a police officer in nearby Lancaster were gunned down—the killer was his son, David Brown Jr. An autopsy showed he had PCP, marijuana and alcohol in his system

Now this with the death of five officers. I can’t even imagine how much this is breaking his heart.

He’s been the right person for Dallas, and never more than right now. I don’t know if the CNN piece mentioned it, but the chief has had to fend off detractors recently. Thankfully the mayor has had his back. Dallas is better off for it. His programs that promote de-escalation have born fruit.