DALLAS — Activists in the Dallas area are planning protests to speak out about police violence.
The rally scheduled to take place outside Dallas Police Department headquarters is in response to five Memphis police officers who have been charge in connected to the death of Tyre Nichols.
Activists in Dallas say ongoing police issues, locally, must be discussed.
”So many times we have told you that it’s about the culture of policing,” Minister Dominique Alexander said during a press conference on Friday.
Community activists admit they have been quiet on the streets around North Texas for months. However, they said work has been happening behind the scenes. Dallas is among cities across the country where groups are protesting about the Memphis case of excessive force.
”When we look at use of force, we still have a problem with use of force in this city. When Dallas Police officers use force, almost two-thirds of the time, they are using it on Black people,” said Changa Higgins of Dallas Action.
Plans for protests in Dallas happened in advance of the release of video that investigators said shows the beating death of Tyre Nichols at the hands of five Memphis police officers who are now charged with murder.
Local organizers said during the rally and protest march, they’ll be speaking out about strained police and community relations in Dallas, asking for more transparency, and removing road-blocks to data including access to use of force statistics.
“If you really want to make a difference, be transparent with the data. If you really want to be transparent, show us that you mean business,’ activist Tamara Neal said.
Activists in Dallas said they would continue demanding more accountability from officers, the police chief and city leaders.
“We will continue to fight. We will continue to take the streets. We will continue to raise our voice,” explained Tiara Cooper with In Defense of Black Lives.
The Dallas Police Department issued a statement on behalf of Chief Eddie Garcia, on Friday. It said Garcia held meetings with several community activists and pastors. Some of the activists did not attend other scheduled meetings, according to DPD.
The department added a meeting with Garcia was also to be scheduled by the Office of Community Police Oversight. They said that meeting and date has not yet been coordinated by the Office of Community Police Oversight.
DPD said use of force statistics are available upon request, as it is public information.
A use of force dashboard, which was initiated by Chief Garcia has been under development, in an effort to be more transparent, according to his Communications team That dashboard will be live and accessible to the public in a few months.