Dallas City Wire

Their name and mission are identical: Keep Dallas Safe.

Renee Dewer founded the group earlier this month to show support for the Dallas Police Department, which has seen a proposed $7 million cut in its overtime budget as well as the resignation of Police Chief U. Reneé Hall.

Keep Dallas Safe started a petition drive to show the Dallas City Council – which voted 13-2 last week to cut money from the overtime budget – that Dallas residents don’t want to see the police defunded or denigrated.

Mayor Eric Johnson | City of Dallas

“I launched this petition about a week ago after seeing that Members of the Dallas City Council are leaning towards a ‘defund the police’ type effort in their budget discussions,” Dewer told Dallas City Wire. “Specifically, they’re trying to cut the overtime budget which the Dallas Police depends on especially during periods of unrest. Without overtime, DPD will not have the manpower necessary to protect our neighborhoods while preventing mass chaos during the large scale demonstrations. I have seen what has happened in Portland, Seattle, Chicago and New York and I’m not about to let that happen in our city.”

She is optimistic the petition drive will succeed. 

“I expect thousands of people will sign this petition,” Dewer said. “The vast majority of Dallas residents want a responsible, well-funded police force.”

Hall resigned after drawing fire for her handling of protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd in the custody of Minneapolis police officers on May 25. Hundreds of arrests were made but almost all charges were dropped.

That didn’t settle well with Dewer.

“In addition to the cuts to the overtime budget, another major concern is the fact that violent protesters have not been prosecuted. I 100% support peoples’ rights to peacefully demonstrate whether it’s a cause I agree with or not,” she said. “But violence, vandalism, and looting are not legitimate forms of protest. Dominique Alexander, who was caught on camera assaulting a security guard, was released by the district attorney and not prosecuted. Meanwhile, the security guard himself was prosecuted.

“In Texas, we have the fundamental right to defend ourselves and our property,” Dewer said. “It seems like very wealthy out-of-state donors are trying to turn Dallas into the liberal coastal cities which have turned into chaotic, near anarchy. Dallas residents of all incomes, ethnicities, and political ideologies do not want this.

“My biggest fear isn’t about what has happened thus far but what could happen in the future if we fail to fund and support our police,” Dewer said. “If some of the members of the City Council like Lee Kleinman and Chad West have their way, that is exactly what will happen. What has kept Dallas safe thus far is the support our police has both financially and morally from our community. The police departments in Chicago, New York and Portland lack that support and the results are self-evident.”

She said Hall was turned into a scapegoat, forcing her to resign because of a lack of support from City Hall.

“Chief Hall correctly focused on preventing mass chaos on the streets of Dallas,” Dewer said. “When the police fails take on chaos, chaos wins as it has in cities across the country. With that said, the right of peaceful protesters to demonstrate should never been infringed. It is important for the police to distinguish between peaceful protesters and violent agitators but it is also incumbent on the peaceful protesters to set a clear tone that these agitators are not welcome. In many cases that has not happened.”