DALLAS — Updated on June 1 to include information about Fort Worth's curfew.
Leaders in Dallas, Denton, Fort Worth, Highland Park, Irving and University Park have implemented curfews as civil unrest has continued to grip North Texas and the rest of the country following the death of George Floyd last week in Minneapolis police custody.
Dallas Police Chief Renee Hall instituted a curfew for the city of Dallas starting Sunday night at 7 p.m. after a second night of vandalism and protests in the city.
The curfew will begin at 7 p.m. and end at 6 a.m. for the next several days, Hall said. She said the curfew was done in coordination with multiple agencies.
The boundaries for the curfew, which includes Deep Ellum, The Cedars, Farmers Market, Central Business District, West End, Victory Park and Uptown, are as follows:
- Oak Lawn Avenue in the north
- Riverfront Boulevard in the west
- East Corinth Street in the east
- South Peak Street in the south
A map of the boundaries is below:
"These rioters, these looters, they have become extremely aggressive and our enforcement efforts have escalated," Hall said. "We will not tolerate...any more damage to our city."
Watch Hall's full remarks below:
The city of University Park and the town of Highland Park were also be under a mandatory curfew Sunday night as well, officials announced. The curfews in each town lasted from 7 p.m. until 6 a.m. in coordination with Dallas police.
All of those in both towns were under the curfew and asked to stay home. Residents were asked to lock their cars, remove all valuables and park in a garage if possible. Officials also advised residents to lock all of their doors and activate any alarm systems they may have.
Dallas businesses in the area under the newly instituted curfew were urged by police to close their doors at 5 p.m. to "avoid harm," police said.
Police will be present at known protests to protect those in the area, manage traffic and "remove or control bricks or anything else which may be used to harm people, vandalize or destroy property, or aid in other criminal mischief."
Those in the area who observe any criminal activity were "strongly urged" by police to call 911 and not take matters into their own hands."Residents or employees who live or work in the curfew area should be prepared to show proof of residency or work credentials if they need to travel in or out of the area while curfew is in effect," a news release said.
Parts of Denton will also be under a curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. nightly through June 6, expiring at 5 p.m. June 7, officials said.
On Monday, Fort Worth officials announced the city will implement an 8 p.m. curfew following a clash between a crowd and police the night before. Mayor Betsy Price said she has executed an emergency declaration.
The curfew will last until 6 a.m. each night for the next 72 hours, at which point officials will reassess.
Gov. Greg Abbott placed Texas under a state of disaster Sunday as civil unrest has gripped the country following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.
Earlier in the day, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said he would discuss a curfew with other leaders.
“Our police chief and city manager and I are going to be discussing today how we deal with this issue of an influx of people into our city who are here to do no good,” said Mayor Eric Johnson in a live interview on WFAA’s Daybreak this morning. “Curfews are going to be looked at, discussed."
Johnson hedged, though, that law enforcement leaders would need to make that call.
"[A curfew] is something that law enforcement is going to have to ask us for," he said. "They're going to have to tell us that that's what they think they need to be able to bring this under control, and if they want to do that, I'm supportive of that.”
Overnight, vandals returned to Deep Ellum and damaged more restaurants and businesses for a second night in a row. Another group of vandals damaged the Whole Foods grocery store on McKinney Avenue in Uptown, as well.
On Friday night, vandals caused widespread damage to downtown businesses including breaking out large plate glass windows at Neiman Marcus and dining room glass at Campisi’s pizzeria.
PHOTOS: Dallas businesses suffer damage from protesters on Friday
Looters also cleaned out other stores along Main Street in the city center and in Deep Ellum, as well.
Earlier on Sunday, Johnson said a curfew is not something that would be imposed without a change in policing strategy.
“Curfews are a law enforcement tool. It's not something that you impose without there having to be any change in your policing strategy, which there would have to be,” the mayor said earlier on Sunday before the curfew was enforced. “So, we can't impose that on the police department and say 'impose a curfew.'"
Instead, Johnson said, police leaders will need to make that decision. Once they do, though, he said other city leaders will support it.
The mayor also said it’s important to differentiate between the groups of people taking to the streets of Dallas this weekend.
There are rightful protesters, he explained, but there are vandals and looters mixed in together with them.
“My understanding is that [Saturday] night about 90 arrests were made and that a large majority of the people that were arrested were not from Dallas. I think that is a telling fact. We have people coming into Dallas who are not our residents causing mischief,” Johnson added.
Police are also investigating the beating of a man in South Victory that was captured in a graphic video and shared widely on social media last night.
“It's unacceptable for a beating to happen like that in my city. And I think that the police are looking into that situation and that's going to be addressed in our criminal justice system."
That individual is still alive, Johnson continued, but the circumstances of what led up to the beating remain under investigation.