Dallas News Blog

No, not that one. The one featured in this video the Dallas Police Department just posted, in which a Big C convenience store at 2240 Irving Boulevard is robbed at gunpoint by two men, one of whom is a 21-year-old named Anthony Romo. (His accomplice is, thus far, unidentified by DPD.)

According to Kevin Janse, DPD spokesman, the men are believed to have been involved in "up to nine armed robberies," including ones at the La Azteca Meat Market (3046 Forest Lane) in September and the Supermercado Monterrey (5306 Davis Street) on Halloween, where a store clerk was shot by the accomplice. Janse tells Unfair Park the Big C robbery, which occurred Friday, is the most recent involving the two men.

For all those Friends of Unfair Park who were convinced juror Nedra Frazier's interview with Sam would get Don Hill and the others convicted in the Dallas City Hall federal corruption case a new trial, per a motion filed by Sheila Hill's attorney, guess again. U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn has ruled: "The motion is denied." Below is her ruling, as well as a transcript of her interview with Frazier.

Lynn Juror Interview

​Back in January, a Dallas-based company that sells bottled water -- pardon, a "natural spring water ... created from all natural ingredients including extracts of alfalfa stems and leaves, milk whey and enzymes from pineapple and papaya" -- asked the University of Texas's M.D. Anderson Cancer Center if it wouldn't mind testing its magic potion. M.D. Anderson said sure ... for a price. Which is how Noel Road-based Evolv got M.D. Anderson to test the anti-inflammatory effects of its water -- specifically, the so-called "Archaea Active ingredients" that Evolv claims separate its water from, oh, regular water. Everyone agrees on that: Evolv (which is also known as HealtH20 or EvolvHealth), paid M.D. Anderson to test its some of its water, which, according to the hospital, ain't nothing but Houston tap water with some stuff in it.

What happened next, though, is what leads us to this federal lawsuit filed in Houston this week.

M.D. Anderson did its testing -- all very "preliminary" stuff, says the suit, and the cancer center never checked its "safety, efficacy, medicinal or beneficial health value." But Evolv -- which is a self-proclaimed "multi-level marketing company" that has the recruiting videos to prove it -- started running on its Web site statements like, "The Archaea Active formula has undergone in-vitro testing by The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center out of Houston." Which, as far as M.D. Anderson is concerned, gives people the impression that the cancer center has endorsed the product. And so, at 11:31 a.m. on September 9, its communications director posted a blog item that said, "There seems to be buzz on the Internet about a type of water that a Dallas-based company is marketing and this water's relationship to M. D. Anderson. So we thought we'd un-muddy the water for our patients, employees and supporters. M. D. Anderson doesn't recommend the water."

Patrick Michels

Since all of my photos from last night turned out too dark to use, we'll recycle this one again. S'up, Sarah?

​The chief and council member attended a little meet-and-greet in Northwest Dallas last night -- big turnout too, about 150 folks who didn't come for the way-too-early-for-those Christmas cookies but to talk crime. Margolin, though, spent much of her time talking about ethics reform at Dallas City Hall -- "a big issue," she said, "hot and controversial." Well, maybe a few weeks ago, sure, but most of those in attendance wanted to know about mutilated kitties and busted-down doors, not Don Hill, zoning cases, campaign contributions and lobbyist registration.

Not that there wasn't some interest in City Hall doings: Somebody asked the District 13 rep if she thinks the Trinity River Corridor Project will ever get finished, which got big laughs from the audience.

"I think pieces of it will," Margolin said, before promising to spend the holiday break getting up to speed on the entirety of the thing. "In six months come back to me." (Schutze will be up shortly with some Trinity news, speaking of.)

With regards to the rise in crime in the NW -- some stats show an 18-percent increase, as opposed to an overall decline of 30-some-odd percent citywide -- Margolin did mention that she's also going to spend the next six months trying to clean up Royal Lane and Dennis Road, where, recently, a homeless camp was broken up behind a convenience store and smoke shop in front of which day-laborers spend much of their day. Matter of fact, she said, tomorrow she's got a meeting with first assistant city manager Ryan Evans and members of the Dallas Police Department, the City Attorney's Office and Code Compliance involving that very intersection. "It's gotten very bad," she said, "and we're going to crack down on some of those areas."

And another item of note: Margolin said the city's about to look into drafting an ordinance that prohibits the number of cars that can be parked at one house. (Farmers Branch and Arlington already have one.) And: Did you know Dallas has a law that says your car can't be parked in front of your house for more than 24 hours? Sure does, but Kunkle says it "can be defeated if you move it a few inches."

What else did the chief say? Lots. Jump for it.

​A couple of months, Schutze was all jacked up because someone on his street got a ticket for being parked the wrong way on a two-way street. Don't look now, but seems the city's done figured out that's an awful easy way to make $45 a pop during these lean times: I've received several missives in recent days from Friends of Unfair Park who've been hit with that very same wrong-way citation, including one from a neighbor on a tiny side street who received her love letter from the city just last week after years of breakin' the law, breakin' the law in front of her house.

Oh. And I probably should mention Schutze got tagged with a wrong-way ticket Saturday night. You, right there. Yes, you. Stop laughing.

Patrick Michels

​Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle was at City Hall this morning for the first time since announcing his surprise retirement last week. Ostensibly, he came to discuss the newly updated crime statistics, but he kicked off a briefing of the city council's Public Safety Committee by discussing his decision to get out while the gettin' was good.

"There is a time to come in and a time to leave," he said. "I'm not leaving unhappy with anybody; I'm not leaving because I'm tired or worn out." Kunkle assured council members he has no intention of slacking off before his April 30 adios. "This has been the greatest honor of my life. The guys in the blue uniform understand that when you come to work for this department, it changes you forever."

Council member Tennell Atkins invited the chief to play golf after his retirement: "You're a blessing; we're going to miss you," Atkins said. "You have been a service to the city." Other council members echoed those remarks, among them Sheffie Kadane, who said, "I was made aware that you've been here probably five years longer than you wanted to be. I didn't think of that. I much appreciate that and you bringing us out of the hole we were in."

Kadane was referring to myriad things, of course -- chief among them the tenure of his predecessor, Terrell Bolton, who did not go willingly, and Dallas's longstanding reputation as Crime City. And while crime has steadily declined in Dallas over the last six years -- at least, the numbers have -- even Kunkle acknowledged that Dallas still ranks among the top third of the most dangerous cities in the U.S. And, as we pointed out Friday, not all the figures are dropping: The number of murders through October is slightly higher than at the same time last year.

​The council's Public Safety Committee's got a noon meeting on Monday, and even before Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle's surprise retirement announcement yesterday, they had plenty on their plates, including a look at the car burglary stats. There's even a Top 10 List, with the truck stop at 7425 Bonnie View Road considered the worst place to leave your ride (80 break-ins reported so far this year). But it's not all truck stops and Walmarts and topless joints (Baby Dolls!); rounding out the list is NorthPark Center, which brings up the rear at 30 broken windows reported so far in 2009.

Says the DPD, the number of auto break-ins is on the decline -- has been for years, but, well, you know where this is going, right? Right. Which brings us to the murder stats -- no decline there. During all of 2008, there were somewhere between 132 and 134 homicides accounted for in Dallas; with almost two months left to go in 2009, that number's already up to 141. (And, yes, there's some discrepancy here: The chart above says 134; the report prepared for the briefing says 132.) One thing to note: It used to be that Wednesday was, by far, the day of the week during which you were most likely to get killed in Dallas. Now, Friday and Sunday vie for the title, with Saturday and Monday coming in a close second.

Photos by Patrick Michels

Chief David Kunkle at his retirement press conference today; standing next to him, wife Sarah Dodd

​When a big-city police chief announces a sudden early retirement, you expect a lot questions -- most of which begin with "Why ...". Apparently, they were all answered last night. This morning's press conference at Dallas Police Department HQ was more like an event held in honor of everybody's favorite grandfather who's decided it's time to collect his gold watch and move along.

The TV cameras arrived early and set up inside the press room in police headquarters. Members of the press sat around talking about where they were last night when they got the call that David Kunkle was going to announce his retirement today. A broadcast reporter, whisking her straight black hair out of her face, said that as soon as she told her husband, he flipped out, picked up the phone and threatened to dial all of his buddies in the apartment building. "I was, like, whatever," she said.

Officers in uniform approached two white-haired colleagues in blue suits holding Styrofoam cups filled with coffee. "How you doing?" one cop asked.

"We're hangin' in there," said one white-haired man. "'Bout all we can do."

"Yeah, when I heard last night ... oh, man."

"Not a good day," said the man in the suit, looking down and shaking his head.

​Last night, Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle explained why, 30 minutes from now, he will hold a press conference to announce his retirement, effective April 30. After the jump you will find his letter to the department, in which he outlines strides made during his five-year tenure -- including policy changes within DPD, and, he writes, "it would be disingenuous not to acknowledge that some of these changes were unpopular" -- and why he's leaving despite those successes. An excerpt, before you hit the sirens:

Hard work and long hours come with the job. Still the hardest responsibility of all is dealing with the line of duty deaths and injuries of our colleagues. No one can prepare for the emotional toll this takes on the families and fellow officers. I will carry this grief forever, but the consolation is that the losses were not in vain and the sacrifices will never be forgotten.

I mentioned earlier that this is the right time for the Department. As my career as your Chief comes to an end, I leave with confidence that the Department will continue to be led by dedicated and motivated leaders. I believe our organization can only benefit from the fresh perspectives and new ideas these individuals will bring.

​Courthouse News has the complaint, in which Everett Clemmer is going after Zhuoye Lighter Manufacturing Co., claiming that a defect in his son William's lighter led to his death last year. From the suit, the key paragraph and cautionary tale:

On or about April 10, 2008, William Clemmer was working at Square One Machine Shop in Stephenville when he attempted to use an "MK" lighter to light a cigarette. Shortly after the cigarette was lit, the "MK" lighter suddenly and expectedly exploded in his pocket. As a result of the lighter failure, Mr. Clemmer's clothing caught fire and burned 55% total body surface area including third degree burns to his groin and upper body, chest, abdomen, back, neck, face, and scalp causing him severe and excrutiating pain and suffering. Mr. Clemmer was promptly care-flighted to Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas where he received constant care for twenty-six days until his death on May 6, 2008.

No doubt, the complaint meant to read that the lighter "unexpectedly exploded in his pocket." But you get the point.

Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle

​Tomorrow morning, at around 10, Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle will hold a press conference during which he will announce that, effective April 30, 2010, he will no longer be Dallas Police Chief. He has known this day was coming for a while. He told Dallas City Manager Mary Suhm about a month ago: "I'm ready to go." At least, that's more or less what he remembers saying. She asked him to reconsider. He did not, and so, tomorrow, he is retiring.

"I had decided from the time I started, but particularly a year ago, I wanted as much as possible to control the time and circumstance under which I left," Kunkle tells Unfair Park tonight. "Dallas chiefs need to be somewhat term-limited, because it's a job that has a shelf life. And so I picked a time I think worked for me personally and for the department. I am turning 59 on Friday. Originally, when I talked to the city manager, I said I would be leaving in February. That's 38 years from the time I started with DPD, which had a certain symmetry.

"The chief's job tends to eat everybody up, and I wanted, if I could, to leave with dignity, without being ... not being ..." He pauses, then begins again. "When I told people about the job at the beginning, I said, 'Nobody got out of that job alive.' I just felt it was the right time for me personally, and it's a benefit to the department to have somebody new with a clean slate and with all of the hope and optimism that occurs when somebody starts in a new position with new ideas.  That was the reason behind the decision."

A Q&A with the chief after the jump. (Update at 12:12 a.m. Thursday: Also after the jump, Mary Suhm's memo to the council announcing Kunkle's retirement, dated today.)

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Just saw this press release from the Dallas Police Department that contains relatively few details about something called Operation Car Wash, which DPD says has resulted in 27 arrests since warrants were first issued back on September 9. The release catalogs the drugs also seized, and DPD spokesman Kevin Janse tells Unfair Park that "more arrests and seizures are possible."

Reason I called Janse is because the main address listed on the release sounded awfully familiar: 2702 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Yup -- sure enough, that's the car wash owned by one Dale Davenport, about whom Schutze wrote back in 2005, when Davenport and the DPD were at odds over who was to blame for the crime at his car wash. The release says Davenport's now a DPD partner: "The owner of this car wash is now cooperating with the Police Department by participating in the Criminal Trespass Affidavit Program [which] allows officers to give Criminal Trespass Warnings to individuals on the property who are not conducting car wash business and follow up with arrests if these individuals return to the property."

That's right, Davenport says: "And I applaud their actions," he tells Unfair Park. "They try to hit the car wash five times each shift, so if there are undesirables hanging around, they will issue criminal trespass citations, and I don't have a problem with that." Still, it's not all bubbles and rinse: "Why don't they do something about the crack houses on Peabody, Pennsylvania and Myrtle?" To which Janse responds: "How does he know we're not?"

John Bradley

​At 10 this morning, the state Senate Committee on Criminal Justice will have a little face time with John Bradley, the newly appointed chair of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, created in 2005 to see whether Texas should have executed Cameron Todd Willingham in 2004. (Probably not, said the August '09 report: "Investigators ... relied on bad science, unproven theories and personal bias.") Which reminds me: The TFSC's coordinator sent over a Bradley-penned "editorial" in which the Williamson County District Attorney more or less offers a sneak preview of what he'll tell state Sen. John Whitmire and the committee today. You don't even need to jump for it.

John Bradley's Editorial

Dallas County

Two prositutes picked up Wednesday night, as part of Dallas's Prostitute Diversion Initiative off Interstate 20 near Lancaster

​While the focus of this week's National Prostitute Diversion Conference was Dallas's collaborative approach to treating prostitutes as victims and diverting them to programs that include drug treatment, counseling and job training, many of the attendees repeatedly asked what was being done to enforce laws against men who pay for sex.

"I just have to ask because it's the elephant in the room: What is being done in the demand area?," a female police officer from Massachusetts asked during the Q&A session of one panel, expressing concern that while women with a third prostitution offense in Texas face a felony that remains on their record and makes it difficult to find employment for years to come, the men who buy their services may go without punishment. "We're going to examine this model. We're importing this [approach] to the rest of the country by having you here talking to us today, and so I'd like to know how you're dealing with the johns."

Sgt. Louis Felini, the Dallas police officer responsible for creating the city's Prostitute Diversion Initiative, was quick to answer. "Right now we're targeting mostly the female population, but that's going to change sometime in the next year," he said. New ways to enforce the law -- which prohibits prostitution for both the seller and buyer -- against johns are under discussion, he added, including the possibility of yanking truckers' licenses if they're caught soliciting.

"What we're going through is a philosophy change in law enforcement," he said. "We have to prove this program can sustain itself and that these women really want help, and I think we've been able to accomplish that, so we're moving in the right direction." He stressed that since most prostitutes were sexually and physically abused as children and didn't enter the "profession" by choice, johns play into the cycle of abuse by paying for the end result.

As promised earlier, here's the full 75-page report from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission concerning use of force during the Rainbow Lounge raid in Fort Worth in June. Per the agency's Open Records Coordinator, driver's license information and vehicle license plate numbers have been redacted from the documents; hence, the occasional black marks.
c09-012 Report Uof Redacted_joe

U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn

​Last week, as you no doubt recall, Sheila Hill's attorney, Victor Vital, requested a new trial or evidentiary hearing based upon possible jury misconduct preceding all those guilty verdicts in the Dallas City Hall federal corruption trial. Now we know how U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn will proceed -- by dismissing two of the three claims (those involving a newspaper found in the jury room and D'Angelo Lee's claim that a friend of his said a juror gave opinions about the case during the trial), and by interviewing in private Nedra Frazier, the juror Sam interviewed only hours after she and the other jurors found Don Hill and his four co-defendants guilty of 23 of the 29 charges against them. Lynn will then provide a transcript to counsel. A copy of yesterday's order follows.

​Some time this morning, we should have the full copy of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission's so-called "use of force" report concerning the raid on the Rainbow Lounge in late June. Till then, TABC spokesperson Carolyn Beck offers this morning a lengthy summary, in which TABC Agent Chris Aller -- who'd been to the bar two night before, spotted two men in "dressed only in thong-like underwear or bikini bottoms sitting on some picnic tables" and thought just maybe they were involved in "drug activity or lewd conduct" -- is cleared of singling out the Rainbow Lounge for being a gay bar. Says the summary, which also clears TABC Agent Trainee Jason Chapman, "The allegation that the Rainbow Lounge was targeted for being a gay bar was unfounded." Aller -- who's seen in that now-infamous photo standing over patron Chad Gibson, who was hospitalized for a week after the raid with a skull fracture -- was also cleared of using excessive force, as was Chapman

Yet TABC Administrator Alan Steen says the two men, fired in August along with Sgt. Terry Parsons, will remain fired, despite the report's findings: "Although the evidence did not show that our agents targeted the bar or used excessive force, it does not take away from the fact that the agents violated several policies that night. I want to take another opportunity to say that this is not how we treat people, and we have been looking at this from every angle to find ways to make sure it does not happen again."

After the jump, a laundry list of changes made within TABC to address the issues raised by the fallout from the Rainbow Lounge raid; as soon as we receive the full report, we'll post accordingly. Fort Worth police are also releasing their own internal-affairs report this morning, in which the department says its officers likewise did not use excessive force and won't be fired.

​This morning, The New York Times' editorial page insists the tale of Ernestina Mondragon, the first of 39 drivers ticketed by Dallas police for not speaking English to speak up, is merely a symptom of a larger issue: "how local police departments should deal with recent immigrants." (And, no, the editorial does not say that Mondragon's been in the U.S. for 29 years.) After all, Police Chief David Kunkle has said it's very possible his officers were just enforcing a federal statute available on their in-car ticketing computers -- one that says commercial drivers must speak English, and one that DPD doesn't enforce. Said the chief, "When we deal with crime victims ... our interest is not their immigration status," echoing the sentiment of Arlington Deputy Chief of Police Kim Lemaux, who told Unfair Park the same week, "We don't have the ability to take on unfunded mandates such as immigration enforcement."

The Times's editorial board, which has a few questions for the DPD about how this "noxious practice" was allowed to go on for so long without detection, could not agree more:

This is a country that has repeatedly gone overboard in its reaction to immigrants who don't speak the common tongue, but the mind still reels at this one. Where were these officers' supervisors, who presumably reviewed and approved each of these tickets after they were filed? Where were the judges who must have encountered these language offenders in traffic court? ... There is no question that the efforts to [have local peace officers enforce federal immigration policies] so have been marred by poor training, racial profiling and other abuses -- and widespread fear in the communities that the police are sworn to protect. If there is any remaining doubt, just take a look at what happened in Dallas.

​Dallas has developed a growing reputation as one of the few cities in the country to treat prostitutes as victims, whether through unique programs for under-age targets of human trafficking or specialty courts that help convicted sex workers create new lives. And so, two years after the Dallas Police Department started its Prostitute Diversion Initiative -- which, as noted here, will soon add DNA testing to its arsenal -- city officials kicked off the first National Prostitute Diversion Conference this morning at the Old Red Courthouse.

Before an audience of about 150 (many of whom came from out of town) at 8 this morning, county and city officials lauded Dallas's multi-agency effort to help prostitutes as a national example. And many acknowledged Sgt. Louis Felini, the man who initiated DPD's new approach to prostitution. "This developed organically from the ground up because Sgt. Felini saw that our approach wasn't working and really did it on his own," said Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle. "We really believe this is a model for cities across the country."

Dallas County Commissioner Maurine Dickey called the initiative an example of "a well-oiled, good working partnership" that includes the police department, the Dallas County Sheriff's Department, Parkland Hospital and The Bridge.

​Until today, there has been not a single word of media coverage about an incident on the Dallas North Tollway earlier this month involving a state trooper accused of using excessive force to make an arrest. But moments ago Tela Mange, spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety, sent word that on October 10, a 42-year-old trooper named Arturo Perez did just that, prompting his firing by DPS Director Steven McCraw. That happened one week ago today.

Actually, that's not entirely correct: Perez, who worked in the state prison system for 16 years before moving to the DPS a little more than three years ago, opted to retire before he was formally fired. Nevertheless, McCraw has asked the Texas Rangers to investigate the incident "based on readily observable evidence from the Trooper's in-car video," according to the DPS's statement. Perez had been patrolling the Dallas North Tollway since July of this year.

Mange tells Unfair Park she's not sure where on the tollway the incident occurred, or what precisely happened; we're still woefully short on details. And the video will not be released any time soon: Mange says the Rangers will turn over their evidence, including the tape, to the Dallas County District Attorney's Office. It will be released only when the case is closed.

Update at 10 a.m. Saturday: Last night, Fox 4 ran an interview with Randy Isenberg, the attorney for Whitney Fox, who Perez arrested for drunken driving near the Lemmon Avenue exit on October 10. The piece shows the injuries Fox sustained during her arrest. It's after the jump.

Flickr user: vgsgeek

​Here's a friendly little heads-up from your pals at Unfair Park: If you've received a citation from the Dallas Police Department and haven't taken care of it, you might want to settle up sooner than later. That's because the city's this close to signing a contract with Dallas County that'll ensure drivers with unpaid tickets can't get their cars registered until they pay up.

On Monday, the city council's Public Safety committee will be briefed on the Scofflaw Vehicle Registration Denial Program, the result of three months' worth of discussions between the city and county. The committee's PowerPoint presentation won't be posted to the city's Web site till tomorrow, but First Assistant City Manager Ryan Evans tells Unfair Park this afternoon that the decision stems from a municipal courts efficiency study done earlier this year, which, as Evans says, recommended establishing the program to "reduce, if not eliminate, the backlog on our dockets." The study stemmed from an April audit that revealed the municipal courts are losing a small fortune on unpaid citations.

Dallas County actually began denying registration to drivers with unpaid fines back in February; Garland's doing the same thing. Drivers with outstanding fines will wind up on the county's wanted Web site.

FBI

Don Hill's testimony about the fax machine found at his residence in June 2005 tickled juror Nedra Frazier so much that she may have let it slip that she either was talking about the case before deliberations or listening to others talk about it.

When we spoke with juror Nedra Frazier hours after she helped convict Don Hill, his wife and three others in the Dallas City Hall corruption case, she mentioned Hill's denial about owning a fax machine as "the one thing that stuck out" during his testimony. After she referred to it as "the talk of the day," we pressed her for an explanation, and Frazier denied discussing it with other jurors before deliberations.

However, she referred to "outside people," the public and media as those she heard elaborating on the issue, leading to a motion filed this afternoon by Sheila Hill's attorney, Victor Vital, requesting a new trial or evidentiary hearing into possible jury misconduct. In addition to citing Frazier's comments to us, the motion claims Frazier "gave opinions about the case" to an acquaintance of defendant D'Angelo Lee prior to the verdicts (a signed statement from Lee is included) and reminds U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn that a newspaper was found in the jury room containing an article about the trial.

Juror statements have come to light which indicate that, during the trial, jurors were listening to comments from the public. In order to ensure that a fair trial was not compromised, Mrs. Hill requests that the Court declare a mistrial or, alternatively, conduct an evidentiary hearing and investigation into whether juror misconduct has occurred.

​It's just a single line on the city's Automated Red Light Enforcement Commission's agenda for Tuesday's meeting: "Program Transition from PWT to DPD." But as it so happens, Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle tells Unfair Park, that transition -- getting the city's Safe Light Program out of Public Works and Transportation and into DPD HQ -- took place at the beginning of the month, as a result of the budget cuts and layoffs at Dallas City Hall. The DPD also took over parking enforcement (as in, "enforcing meters in primarily the downtown area," says the chief) and the Crisis Intervention Team, which, Kunkle reminds, "are social workers who do outreach with the homeless downtown."

"The Houston Police Department manages their red-light camera program, and we were involved in the beginning of Dallas's," Kunkle says. "We were already involved in reviewing citations, but we're not going to be involved in the adjudication part of it. We will, however, be involved in the budget and contract side of it."

As you may recall, at the commission's last meeting, in June, it was brought up that the city has spent more than $6 million each year to monitor and maintain the 66 red-light cameras installed in 2007. (At present, DPD says, there are only 57 cameras up and running; the rest are being installed at this very moment.) But Dallas has only pocketed $676,753, after it splits that revenue with the state. In other words, it's the opposite of a money-maker. Mark Duebner, the former director of Business Development and Procurement for the city who moved to DPD earlier this month, reiterates a point made at that meeting: These cameras weren't intended to be ATMs, but accident deterrents.

"I was involved in getting that initial contract secured, and at the time critics said the cameras would cause an increase in rear-end crashes, because people tend to stop short" when they see the cameras," Duebner says. "All of our crash data, however, says that all types of accidents have been reduced. [And] the signals themselves are a public works function, but if you think about it, DPD tickets people for running red lights. So it makes more sense to be here than it ever did in public works."

Sean Salisbury

​Sean Salisbury was not -- no way, no how, no sir -- fired from The Fan 105.3 for "sexting." At least, that's what Richie wrote on September 11 about his former radio-station teammate.  Gawker Media-owned Deadspin, which has been obsessed with the Frisco resident's Salisbury steak for a long time, insisted otherwise, and so began a lengthy, riveting back-and-forth with the former NFL journeyman QB-turned-ESPN analyst.

Late Friday, the McKinney Courier-Gazette provided the latest chapter in this ongoing narrative: Salisbury has sued Deadspin and Gawker Media for defamation in Denton County Court. (Deadspin, offering no comment save for a lengthy excerpt from the McKinney paper, noted that is has not yet been served.) Jeffrey Tillotson is repping Salisbury, who says Deadspin's made it hard for him to find work. I have been unable to reach Richie Whitt for comment.

State Rep. Terri Hodge

​Mark your calendars: March 8. That, says Jack Fink, is when state Rep. Terri Hodge will finally stand trial, per Judge Barbara Lynn's decision. Say what? You forgot Hodge was indicted along with Don Hill, D'Angelo Lee and the rest of the found-guilty gang? Then you should go back and re-read the original indictment, in which Hodge is accused of accepting free rent from Brian and Cheryl Potashnik in exchange for sending letters of support to the Texas Department of Housing & Community Affairs for Southwest Housing's apartment developments.

Of course, as Patrick "Buzz" Williams reminded us last year, her attorney has maintained that the few hundy in free rent wasn't a bribe. Because, see, "she thought she qualified for housing assistance because, as a state legislator, she makes very little money." Got it? Schutze and Merten have already called not-it for live-blogging. Seems awful early for that.

Photos by Kimberly Thorpe

Claude Simmons and Christopher Shun Scott outside the House of Blues, shortly after their release from prison today. Check out more photos here in our slide show.

​The courtroom was filled with tears, then cheers: Two men who spent 12 years in prison for a crime they didn't commit went free today. And while Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins believes this a defining moment for his office and a turning point for Dallas County, 54-year-old Claude Simmons Jr. and 39-year-old Christopher Shun Scott -- sentenced to life in prison for the 1997 robbery and murder of Alfonso Aguilar -- are far less concerned at the moment with the political ramifications.

"It's just a glorious day for me," Scott told Unfair Park. He spoke of feeling some bitterness towards those who sent him away for so long for a crime he did not commit: "I can forgive, but not forget." And yet, he's at peace. "I just got to keep praying for it," he said.

Zeddie Rucker, Chris Scott's mother, said today, "I knew I did not raise a killer." For years, she said, she told her son, "Don't let your faith waiver."

​Simmons, speaking to us after he'd left the Frank Crowley Courthouse and took his first steps of freedom in the brisk October afternoon, said, "I haven't been past those gates in so long. I didn't know which way to go." (He was, of course, given directions -- to House of Blues, where Simmons and Scott were joined by several other men recently freed from prison after their wrongful incarcerations. More about that after the jump.)

Since their arrests 12 years ago, both men maintained their innocence; one year ago, university-run groups devoted to proving prisoners' innocence championed their cause and convinced the Dallas County District Attorney -- and, ultimately, the Dallas Police Department -- to investigate. Theirs was an extraordinary case: While 20 other men have free before them, Simmons and Scott are the first two freed without DNA evidence. And Michelle Moore at the Conviction Integrity Unit, says they will not be the last: "This is the tip of the iceberg here," she told Unfair Park. "This is where we're going to be in the future."

Photos by Kimberly Thorpe

​You're looking at 220 pounds of methamphetamine, 4.5 kilos of cocaine and $660,000 in cash; you'll have to look at our slide show to see the assortment of machine guns hauled in. The whole stash was seized in North Texas yesterday from more than 80 members of a violent Mexican drug cartel known as La Familia.

A little while ago, federal, state and local authorities stood behind the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration's Dallas Division, James Capra, as he commended the various agencies for working together in Project Coronado, part of a national effort to put down La Familia.

"I'm here to tell you what they are," said Capra. "Just a group of drug-trafficking thugs who profit off the backs of addiction." According to the feds, some of those arrested this week "used stash houses to store the drugs and cash proceeds and acted as intermediaries and brokers to negotiate the acquisition, price, delivery and payment. They used vehicles to transport the drug proceeds to Michoacan, to pay for the methamphetamine and cocaine shipments, secreting the proceeds in false compartments, gas tanks or other containers in the vehicles."

Across the country, more than 1,100 people have been arrested during the operation -- 84 of them in and around Dallas, which, of course, is a major hub for the distribution of drugs coming up from Mexico. The various agencies represented at today's press conference -- an alphabet soup that included the FBI, the I.R.S., the U.S. Secret Service and Texas Air National Guard -- touted the recent success as evidence that the agencies were catching up with the drug cartels.

"Obviously, what happens in Mexico doesn't stay in Mexico," said Steve McCraw, director of Texas Department of Public Safety. The Official Word follows -- jump for it. Or else.

CopShop.com

​While Irving makes the occasional headline with its use of the Criminal Alien Program -- which involves turning over to federal immigration officials people detained for any reason, even traffic violations --  top cops in Arlington have taken a stand against that approach. Instead, they insist that helping to enforce federal immigration laws diverts resources from fighting serious crime and dissuades people from coming forward to help victims or identify criminals.

"It's often difficult to successfully accomplish our mission of preventing and reducing crime with the current resources and funding to our department," Arlington Deputy Chief of Police Kim Lemaux said moments ago, during a national conference call organized by Law Enforcement Engagement Initiative, during which police leaders across the country called for federal immigration reform. (Originally, organizers said that Dr. Theron Bowman, Arlington's chief of police, would be participating in the call. No reason was given for the cop swap. Nonetheless, Bowman was among the police chiefs involved in a massive study, The Role of Local Police: Striking a Balance Between Immigration Enforcement and Civil Liberties, released earlier this year.)

"'We don't have the ability to take on unfunded mandates such as immigration enforcement," Lemaux said. "Our department operates under a community policing strategy, and if a group of residents fears the police then they won't turn to officers for help, making them viable victims. We need everyone in our community to be willing to be involved and to not be afraid to report crimes. Tasking local law enforcement with immigration enforcement really sets us on a path that directly conflicts with community policing."

​Will the feds' new stance on medicinal marijuana have any impact on local users, even though, sadly, Texas isn't among the states that permit the practice? Craig Watkins's office says no way, no how. Local Libertarians, not surprisingly, are crossing their fingers. (As opposed to ...)

"The federal policy shift won't impact the way we evaluate or prosecute cases here," says Kevin Brooks, felony trial bureau chief in the Dallas County District Attorney's Office. "I've never seen a circumstance where people have been caught with a small amount of marijuana and say they're using it for medicinal purposes. If there was a doctor prescribing it or telling them to use it, I'm not saying we wouldn't have any compassion for that, but we'd still have to evaluate it the way we would evaluate any other case -- based on the merits."

Paul Petersen, the chairman of the Dallas County Libertarian Party, would love to see that change. The memo sent to federal prosecutors earlier this week, Petersen tells Unfair Park, is "an example of the pendulum moving back in the direction of individual freedom and responsibility" and "a nice, small step in the right direction."

Brian Harkin

Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins

​On Friday, 54-year-old Claude Alvin Simmons Jr. and 39-year-old Christopher Shun Scott will be free men for the first time since being wrongly sent to prison in October 1997 for the robbery and murder of Alfonso Aguilar. Two other men will take their places: Alonzo Hardy, who is already in prison serving 30 years for an unrelated aggravated robbery; and Don Michael Anderson, who has been charged with the murder following Hardy's confession to the killing, in which he implicated Anderson.

Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins tells Unfair Park he was first notified one year ago that it was likely Dallas County had sent to prison the wrong men. The Texas Center for Actual Innocence at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas at Arlington Innocence Network came to his office in 2008 with the grim news, which Watkins pored over till deciding to turn over the case to his Conviction Integrity Unit and the Dallas Police Department's Cold Case Unit. Bringing in the DPD was a particularly difficult decision, Watkins says; he explains after the jump. He also talks about the ramifications of this case for both his office and DPD Chief David Kunkle's force, and why this one -- the first non-DNA exoneration since Watkins took office -- could have profound implications nationwide.