Dallas City Wire

The Dallas Police Department was inadequately funded prior to the advent of COVID-19 or the emergence of Black Lives Matter and calls for defunding the agency are troubling, a former Texas state representative says.

“Before COVID, Dallas murder investigators were overburdened and if you look at the population of Dallas, we had far less investigators per capita on staff than San Antonio or Houston,” Matt Rinaldi said. “They were clearly overburdened and as a result crimes were not being prosecuted.”

Rinaldi was a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives for four years. He left office last year and currently works as an attorney.

Earlier this year, 11 of the 14 members of the Dallas City Council signed a memo to City Manager T.C. Broadnax asking him to defund the Dallas police but last month Dallas saw its deadliest weekend of the year with seven violent deaths in only one full day, according to The Dallas Morning News.

“The politicization of the police force is an increasing issue in urban areas and it’s leading people to flee urban areas because they're scared,” Rinaldi told the Dallas City Wire. “People want to be safe. I used to live in Dallas and I specifically moved to Irving because of the crime, and it's only gotten worse since then.”

Although some blame the pandemic for the spike in violent crime, Rinaldi said shutdowns to curb the spread of the coronavirus are equally responsible.

“Human beings obviously need outlets, entertainment and social interaction, and I think a decline in mental health caused an increase in crime,” he said. “You have an increase in drug use, which causes an increase in crime, and we’ve effectively criminalized traditional legal outlets like entertainment or gatherings.”

The Texas Department of State Health Services dashboard reports 1.2 million coronavirus cases statewide and 21,756 deaths as of Dec. 2.

"The public is against defunding the police and I think that hurt Democrats in the election," Rinaldi said. "There will be push back against that. As far as virus restrictions go, the vaccine will come out but there will still be politicians trying to control people by implementing mask mandates and targeted shutdowns when there's a bad flu season. People are going to need to push back."

Rather than defund the police to bolster Black and Brown communities, Rinaldi advocates providing educational alternatives in those communities along with recreational opportunities.

“I absolutely do believe they are falling through the cracks as children and I believe our education system is failing, but I think we can provide opportunities for school choice,” he said. “I think we can provide opportunities for charter schools in those communities. First and foremost, we should stop closing schools, provide in-person learning in those communities and stop using COVID as an excuse for distance learning.”

Although NBC News reported that Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson announced Nov. 18 he wants crime monitored on a monthly basis, it’s City Manager Broadnax who is solely accountable for hiring the next police chief but he has prioritized political astuteness, according to Rinaldi.

“I don't know what he means by ‘politically astute,’ but how I take it is that his goal is not to have a well-run police force that reduces crime in Dallas,” he said. “It is to be politically correct and aligned with the ridiculous demands made of Black Lives Matter protesters and other groups that are attacking the police.”