By The Associated Press
DALLAS (AP) -- Dallas police have hired officers who had brushes with the law, were rejected by other police agencies or were given two or three chances to graduate from the training academy, according to a published report.
In one case, an officer rejected by a suburban department but hired in Dallas was twice charged with assault, although prosecutors declined to press charges, and the internal affairs division found that he intimidated witnesses testifying against his stepson, who was on trial for robbery, The Dallas Morning News reported Sunday.
The newspaper said it used the state’s Public Information Act to obtain the personnel and internal affairs files of 29 officers whose names were supplied by fellow officers who were dismayed by the department’s hiring practices.
Seventeen of the 29 had been rejected by another agency and some had been repeatedly fired, amassed bad driving records or been investigated for crimes including domestic abuse. Unlike other major Texas law enforcement agencies, Dallas police recycled many questionable recruits -- including 11 of the 29 whose records were examined by the newspaper -- until they passed basic skills tests.
“I heard that we weren’t hiring the quality people, but I didn’t realize that we were that bad,” said Sgt. Joe DeCorte, a vice president of the officers’ association.
The department’s hiring practices have been under scrutiny for some time, and critics charged former Chief Terrell Bolton with putting unqualified officers on the force.
Interim Chief Randy Hampton has assured the city council that hiring practices in Dallas are stronger than those of the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Education, the state licensing agency for police.
Dallas police say the department requires longer training and a passing score in firearms training of 80 percent instead of the state commission’s 70 percent cutoff.