By Tanya Eiserer And Michael Grabell, The Dallas Morning News
In a long-anticipated reorganization of the Police Department, Chief David Kunkle shuffled several assistant chiefs and created a new structure that emphasizes patrol.
Chief Kunkle formed three patrol bureaus in East, Central and West Dallas to oversee the six current divisions throughout the city and decentralized gang and traffic units to spread resources throughout those divisions.
He centralized investigations under one bureau and split off the homeland security responsibilities into its own division underneath the Central patrol bureau.
The changes were outlined in an organization chart distributed Tuesday morning.
Chief Kunkle had long talked of making such changes to better fight crime, hold commanders accountable and boost the morale of the rank-and-file who see some top leaders as ineffective and incompetent.
The Dallas Morning News reported last summer that numerous recruits who had been rejected from smaller police departments or failed law enforcements exams were recycled through Dallas police training until they passed.
Three deputy chiefs were demoted Monday afternoon, and seven lieutenants were promoted to replace them. A longtime veteran officially became an assistant chief after serving as one for several months.
Nearly every commander in the department has switched roles under Chief Kunkle’s plan. Among the changes:
•Ron Waldrop, a former deputy chief over the old support services bureau, becomes an assistant chief over the West patrol bureau.
•Assistant Chief Shirley Gray was moved from homeland security and investigations to the East patrol bureau.
•Assistant Chief Dora Saucedo-Falls, who had supervised the old special services bureau, is now the Central patrol commander.
•Assistant Chief Randy Hampton, who served as interim chief for 10 months, will head the criminal investigations bureau, overseeing such squads as homicide, robbery, narcotics, auto theft and child abuse.
•Assistant Chief Tom Ward, who was a finalist for the chief position, will lead a new bureau, named the “human resources and professional standards bureau.” The bureau groups together the department’s personnel functions.
The personnel division has faced tough times as a small group of officers has been arrested on suspicion of such offenses as family violence and driving while intoxicated and discrediting the department.
Fixing problems
In May, city leaders expressed confidence in their selection of Chief Kunkle and promised him a free hand in fixing the department’s problems. Several internal studies initiated last fall and memos later solicited by Chief Kunkle have revealed a department troubled by low morale, cronyism and poor leadership.
Chief Kunkle and interim City Manager Mary Suhm, who have worked closely to agree on a final plan, on Monday declined to discuss details of their negotiations about staffing.
“Any discussions that I’ve had with the city manager were between her and I. They’ve been supportive of everything I’m trying to do in the department,” Chief Kunkle said.
Ms. Suhm denied that there had been any disagreement.
“The chief and I and [Assistant City Manager] Charles [Daniels] have had a good discussion,” she said. “It’s not a negotiation. It’s a discussion of what’s best for the city.”
Mr. Daniels, who is the chief’s immediate supervisor and participated in the final discussions of the chief’s plan with Ms. Suhm, could not be reached for comment.
Mayor Laura Miller said that as far as she knows, discussions about the reorganization have been civil, and she knows of no major disagreements. But the mayor, who has not been directly involved in talks between Ms. Suhm and Chief Kunkle, said she thinks the chief should have “free rein” to appoint his staff.
Sources said disagreements over how many top commanders could be demoted delayed the announcement of the department’s reorganization for at least several days. They declined to give details about how many deputy chiefs were originally slated for demotion.
‘Getting political’
“It’s getting political now,” said one high-ranking police official. “Some people have called council members and outside civil leaders and had them call Mary Suhm.”
“You can’t fix this thing with a Band-Aid,” the official said. “You’ve got to fix it or not fix it.”
Malik Aziz, president of the Texas Peace Officers Association, said he thought Chief Kunkle was making a mistake in demoting deputy chiefs so soon after taking over the department.
“I consider his process to be illegitimate and unfair,” Sgt. Aziz said. “He listened to his assistant chiefs, and he made demotions based upon his assistant chiefs who have not been evaluated by any other persons besides him. This is just another form of cronyism.”
But Senior Cpl. Glenn White, president of the Dallas Police Association, which represents more than 80 percent of the department’s sworn officers, praised the effort.
“I think that was a start, but I think that some might say there probably could have been more demotions,” Mr. White said. “I question who’s making the decisions here, or whether he is being manipulated and being told what to do.”
Dallas has led the nation with the highest crime rate among cities with more than a million residents for six years in a row.
A recent Dallas Morning News special section found that accountability for public safety is “vague and diffuse” and that the department has been hobbled by constant second-guessing and micromanagement by City Hall.
The News report, “Dallas at the Tipping Point: A Road Map for Renewal,” found that many of the Police Department’s difficulties are tied to failed and visionless City Hall leadership.
The possibility that such interference is continuing did not surprise one past chief.
“That kind of interference is going to restrict David’s ability to run that department,” said former Dallas Police Chief Ben Click, who led the department from 1993 to 1999. “He’s the guy that’s going to run that department and be held accountable in the end. Unless it’s just something that is legally or morally wrong, he needs to be given that latitude.”
Bolton’s legacy
Chief Kunkle inherited a top brass with gaping holes in managerial experience and lingering credibility problems. Many of the top chiefs were promoted by former Police Chief Terrell Bolton, who was fired in August by former City Manager Ted Benavides.
Mr. Bolton, shortly after he became chief in 1999, replaced much of the department’s top echelon with his own picks, several of whom were sergeants with little or no command-level experience.
The city later paid more than $5 million to commanders demoted by Mr. Bolton, but the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later upheld a district court ruling that found the chief has a right to choose his management team.
On Monday, Kyle Royster, who commanded the Southwest patrol operations division, was informed that he was being demoted from deputy chief back to his civil service rank of sergeant.
He was one of Mr. Bolton’s most criticized promotions and was widely viewed as an example of the fired chief’s emphasis on personal loyalty.
Sgt. Royster, Mr. Bolton’s administrative sergeant, jumped from sergeant to deputy chief in 1999, despite having twice previously failed the civil service lieutenant’s exam. At his promotion, Mr. Bolton placed him at Southwest, one of the busiest patrol stations.
Demoted from deputy chief to captain was Troy McClain, who commanded the Tactical/Homeland Security Division until late June, when Chief Kunkle reassigned him to the legal services and records section.
Capt. McClain said Chief Kunkle told him about the demotion Monday during a 15-minute one-to-one meeting.
“I’m definitely surprised,” Capt. McClain said. “I’m just trying to let it sink in.”
He said he did not have a clear picture of why the chief demoted him.
The veteran deputy chief failed to go to the Dallas Zoo the day a gorilla escaped and injured three people. In reassigning him, Assistant Chief Shirley Gray said at the time that the feeling was that he was “best suited for an administrative position” and that the zoo situation did not play a role in the transfer.
The preliminary findings of an internal investigation were that Chief McClain “failed to respond to a major police incident” when he instead went to his part-time, off-duty neighborhood patrol job. He has not yet been disciplined in that incident.
Capt. McClain had been the longest serving of the deputy chiefs, with 21 years at that rank.
Chief Kunkle also demoted Deputy Chief June Kim-Edwards back to sergeant.
Sgt. Edwards had been in charge of the Youth and Family Support Division, and before that she had headed the Northwest patrol operations station. She was a junior sergeant when Mr. Bolton promoted her in 1999.
Sgt. Edwards could not be reached for comment. She has not been involved in any major department scandals.
“She’s a nice person,” said one officer who answered to her. “She just didn’t have the skills, and she wasn’t afforded the opportunity to learn the skills to be a good division commander.”
Nearly every commander in the department has switched roles under Chief David Kunkle’s reorganization plan. Underneath them is a mix of old and new deputy chiefs:
Assistant Chief Shirley Gray will oversee Deputy Chief Floyd Simpson, who stays in southeast patrol; Deputy Chief Zack Belton, who moves from crimes against persons to communications and detention services; and newly promoted Deputy Chief David Brown, who will supervise northeast patrol. For several months, he had been serving as the division’s commander as a lieutenant.
Assistant Chief Dora Saucedo-Falls will oversee Deputy Chief John Martinez, who moves from narcotics to homeland security as well as new Deputy Chiefs Brian Harvey and David Elliston. Chief Harvey will head the central patrol division while Chief Elliston will head the north central division. As a lieutenant, Chief Elliston supervised the homicide unit and recently served on a task force investigating the city’s fake drug scandal.
Assistant Chief Ron Waldrop will oversee Deputy Cindy Villarreal, who moves from the personnel and development division to Northwest patrol. Vincent Golbeck, who has been active in many of the initiatives to reduce crime in the city’s entertainment districts, becomes a deputy chief over Southwest patrol.
Assistant Chief Randy Hampton will oversee Deputy Alfredo Saldaña, who moves from Northwest patrol to crimes against persons – the homicide, robbery and sexual assault units. He also will supervise Deputy Chief Brigitte Gassaway, who moves from internal affairs to special investigations, like auto theft and youth crimes; and Deputy Chief Julian Bernal, who will take over the narcotics division, which officers say has been hurt by the fake drug scandal and interfering requests from City Council members responding to constituents’ complaints. Chief Bernal brings a great deal of investigative experience, working as a lieutenant in traffic, internal affairs and narcotics.
Assistant Chief Tom Ward will oversee Deputy Chief Danny Garcia, also a finalist for chief, who moves from the Central patrol division to the personnel and development division. He also will command two lieutenants who became deputy chiefs Tuesday. Barbara Smith moves from planning and crime analysis to inspections and accountability. Calvin Cunigan moves from criminal intelligence to internal affairs and public integrity. The internal affairs division has suffered a debilitating backlog of complaints, and many officers have said it should be combined with the public integrity unit, which used to be in a separate bureau.
Executive Assistant Director Jennifer Li will continue to oversee the budget process and equipment purchases. But she now gains the records, property and auto pound section. Deputy Chief Nancy Rippy moves from North-Central patrol to oversee those sections. Underneath her is Capt. Troy McClain, who will oversee the records section. He was demoted Monday after serving as a deputy chief for decades. He had been criticized for going to an off-duty job when a gorilla escaped from the Dallas Zoo late in the day.