Former Trump Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, who said “times have changed” since he helped convicted sex-predator Jeffrey Epstein skate, made himself ridiculous by choosing too recent a date. Things can’t have changed that much since 2008, basically the blink of an eye. But some things may have changed in more…
The motion filed by former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger’s lawyers asking for her murder trial to be moved out of Dallas is 60 pages long not counting appendices. It raises very tough questions that anybody with a fair mind would have trouble answering thoughtfully right off the bat. They…
Hours after the 2016 shooting that ended five police officers’ lives at a rally against police brutality in downtown Dallas, Mark Hughes was making the long walk through the chaos of the night back to his truck with a friend. His friend’s phone rang. “Get away from Mark,” the voice…
If you’ve got a criminal record from Dallas County that you need cleared, now’s the time. The county’s district attorney’s office, public defender’s office and district clerk’s office are holding the county’s annual Expunction Expo, during which attorneys will be helping eligible people have their records expunged, county officials announced…
Attorneys for a fired Dallas police officer who shot and killed a 26-year-old man in his apartment are seeking to have her murder trial moved out of Dallas County. Amber Guyger shot and killed Botham Jean, an accountant from St. Lucia, on Sept. 6.
Less than a day after a Dallas County grand jury indicted a Farmers Branch police officer for allegedly shooting a man as he drove away, the Dallas Police Association excoriated the process that led to the indictment. On June 12, Michael Dunn and other Farmers Branch officers were watching a…
Late Wednesday afternoon, a Dallas County jury sentenced Wesley Mathews to life in prison for his involvement in the death of his 3-year-old adopted daughter, Sherin Mathews. A grand jury indicted Mathews on capital murder charges in 2018, but Mathews pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, injury of a child…
Nathan Hawkins lives in an apartment in a nice neighborhood in the the Mid-Cities — exactly where, he doesn’t like to say. During the week, he works 12-hour shifts at a job hanging electrical signs on high-rise buildings. When he’s not working, he runs a custom woodworking business. On weekends,…
Monday afternoon, a few hours after Brian Clyde shot out the first-floor windows of the Earle Cabell Federal Courthouse before being killed by federal officers, FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Matthew DeSarno told reporters that Clyde wasn’t known to the FBI or part of any investigation. Turns out, that…
Early Tuesday morning, as the newly inaugurated Dallas City Council started feeling its way through its first real meeting, South Oak Cliff representative Casey Thomas recited the obligatory post-election refrain. “Campaign season is over,” Thomas said. “We’re here to govern now.” Whether that’s true — a handful of his colleagues…
According to the editorial page of the city’s only daily newspaper, the new mayor of Dallas failed to strike the proper tone Monday after a masked gunman attacked the federal building in downtown Dallas. “Leadership is usually defined in moments of crisis,” the newspaper said, giving Eric Johnson a sort…
Before this week, Dallas residents hoping to file a police report had a couple of options. If they had the time after, say, their house was burglarized, they could call 911 and have the Dallas Police Department come to their home to take their report. The only hope for a…
When Mike Rawlings took his spot at the center of Dallas City Council’s horseshoe-shaped table, the 2011 World Series had yet to break local sports fans’ hearts, Rick Perry was still governor of Texas and Deep Ellum was still Deep Ellum. By remaining mayor until Eric Johnson took the oath…
Photos and videos from a Facebook page apparently belonging to Brian Isaack Clyde, the 22-year-old man identified by federal officials as the person who shot up downtown Dallas’ Earle Cabell federal courthouse, show the suspected shooter handling a rifle that looks similar to the one he was with which photographed…
A suspect remained in custody at a local hospital after a brief shootout with federal officers downtown Monday morning as the Dallas Police Department bomb squad checked his car for explosives. According to DPD, no one was injured in the incident besides the suspected shooter. Video tweeted by a KDFW…
On a clear day last week, about 100 people gathered in the chapel of Lott’s Mortuary on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in South Dallas to mourn the death of Sheila Davenport Sanders. Sanders, 56, was shot in the back June 2 in a crossfire at Jim’s Car Wash two…
Kendrell Lavar Lyles frequently looked for prostitutes near the area where police believe he shot and killed Muhlaysia Booker on May 18, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. The affidavit, released Thursday afternoon, details the investigation that led Dallas police to Lyles. Police believe that he committed two additional murders…
Everything goes back to Detroit, I guess. Well, not me. I was thinking more about the Dallas chief of police. Again. Yesterday, the Dallas chapter of the National Latino Law Enforcement Organization joined a growing chorus of critics calling for Chief U. Renee Hall to be canned. The NLLEO is…
Dallas police have arrested the man they think killed Muhlaysia Booker on May 18. Kendrell Lavar Lyles, 34, has been charged with murdering two additional, yet to be identified people in May as well. DPD Maj. Max Geron said that police began investigating Lyles after an anonymous tipster told Dallas…
Editor’s note: Casey Miller served as a member of the jury that last week found Brenda Delgado guilty of capital murder in the contract killing of Dallas dentist Kendra Hatcher. Delgado will serve life in prison without the possibility of parole. Miller offered the Observer this essay about his experiences…
Dallas Police Chief U. Renee Hall sounded a lot like a woman on the ropes Monday as she did her best to address Dallas recent spike in homicides and other violent crime in front of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee at City Hall. She told council members that the…
Early last week, the Plain View Project, a database put together by a group of Philadelphia lawyers, went live, publishing Facebook posts that the group believed “could undermine public trust and confidence in police” from more than 3,500 police officers. Among the posts are dozens from Dallas police officers that, to…
