Word on the Beat From Dallas Cops Is ‘don't Come Here'

If you haven't talked to a city cop lately, let me fill you in: Whether mad or sad, they have nothing good to say about working for the Dallas Police Department.Three recent conversations inspire zero confidence that Dallas can easily overcome its difficulties in hiring new officers to replace the hundreds it has hemorrhaged over the last year or so.I've heard plenty of grousing from cops before, but both the message and the vehemence of these latest exchanges was striking. If this is what the rank and file is saying about their own department, why would anyone want to join?Two officers gave me an earful last month after stopping to help sort out a fender-bender in East Dallas. As we stood in the rain waiting for a wrecker — me offering repeated thanks for their service — here's what they wanted to talk about: "Why does everyone hate us?"   Continue reading...