A news release issued by the Dallas Police Department last week reports that job applications to the force have more than quadrupled since a lone gunman shot and killed five police officers and wounded nine others and two civilians in the tragic events of July 7.
From July 8 through July 20, 467 applications were received by the department—an average of nearly 40 per day—compared to 136 from June 8 through June 20, according to Dallas police. For the nine months from Oct. 1 through June 30, the department received 2,871 applications, according to the news release.
In the days following July 7, Dallas Police Chief David Brown urged those who marched in protest of police actions to take affirmative action, so to speak. Like, apply for a job with his department.
“Become a part of the solution. Serve your communities,” Brown said in a news conference. “We’re hiring. Get off that protest line and put an application in. We’ll put you in your neighborhood and help you resolve some of those problems.”
The Dallas Police Chief said he decided to get into law enforcement in 1983 after he watched his friends get caught up in the crack cocaine epidemic.
“I probably wouldn’t protest or complain, I’d get involved and do something about it by becoming part of the solution. And that’s still in me, that keeps me going,” Chief Brown said. “I just love Dallas and I love serving.
In recent months, the Dallas department canceled training academy classes due to a shortage of recruits. The Dallas Morning News reports, the starting salary for the Dallas PD is $44,659, compared to $52,176 in Fort Worth.
“[For] all the crap we gotta take as police officers, the satisfaction we get from serving is much more gratifying,” Chief Brown said.
