Issue No. 48 | July 7, 2022

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Residents Stand Against Violent Crime, Part 2

VIOLENT BAR CLOSES: In a huge victory for residents, this Fourth of July marks the last day that the East Dallas bar, OT Tavern, will serve a drink. The bar has been a source of much controversy for District 14 residents due to the excessive amounts of gun violence and other crimes that have been committed at the bar. 


Keep Dallas Safe has been tracking the situation since June when a fight between two women in the bar quickly escalated into a gun fire, resulting in the hospitalization of both women. Earlier in March, another fight broke out at the bar between two groups of men, leading to the tragic murder of 20-year-old Cameron Ray, and much outrage by Greenville residents. 


The crime and violence had no end in sight until one man, Darren Dattalo, the local Crime Watch Coordinator for the Greenville Neighborhood Association, stood up and pushed for legal action to be taken against the bar. “It’s a crime nuisance,” he said, “they are operating here in the middle of a residential neighborhood.” The city of Dallas threatened action against the bar in the past, but didn't see it through. “We can’t wait for another weekend, for another shootout,” Darren expressed, explaining why he decided to act.


Because of one man's persistence, the city was finally forced to put legal action the bar. On June 17, the city of Dallas filed a suit against the landlords of the buildings that hosted the OT Tavern. The suit alleges that the area near 3606 Greenville Avenue is a serious danger to customers, employees and residents living nearby, and the landlords are not taking the measures necessary to mitigate crime. 


While it's fantastic that the concerns of residents are finally being answered, it shouldn’t have taken this long for the city to step in. Residents had been calling for action to be taken against the bar for more than a year, where was District 14 Councilman Paul Ridley back then? 


If our elected city representatives will not do their jobs, we must make them! The actions being taken in Greenville are the result of one man and his community being fed up.


Please contact your city councilmember and tell them to address the crime ridden areas of your district! We cannot remain silent; we must all do our part to Keep Dallas Safe. 


Click below to see our original article on the Greenville case:

Residents Stand Against Violent Crime, Part 1

Dallas Continues to Stonewall Residents

It’s no secret that Dallas has a homelessness problem that is quickly getting out of hand. Every week, residents watch hopelessly as more and more encampments pop up in their neighborhoods, and throughout the city. Residents are forced to bear the burden; many are too scared to let their kids play outside alone anymore, and some have even had their homes and vehicles broken into and robbed. 


Keep Dallas Safe has been diligently trying to find answers to the problem.


For months now, the Keep Dallas Safe team has attempted to contact Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax and other city leaders inquiring about their implementation of Penal Code 48.05, the ban against public space camping. Each week, we have been largely stonewalled; neither Broadnax nor our elected officials have been responsive. For the few that do respond, their reply is always, “Sorry, I am out of the office right now.” We have reached out to everyone we can think of, hoping that one of them will listen, but we are ignored each week. 


Why have they refused to answer us? Why have they repeatedly failed to answer a simple question about a basic city service? 


This is one of the many reasons why the performance of T.C. Broadnax as City Manager has recently been called into question. Not only has he refused to engage in a transparent and honest discussion about addressing the homelessness problem and the safety issues it directly causes, but as the city manager, he has personally overseen a persisting pattern of non-compliance with the ban on urban camping. 


This is NOT how all cities handle homelessness. Queue Cowtown.


Keep Dallas Safe contacted the city of Fort Worth inquiring with the exact same question: How is the city addressing homelessness? In a stark contrast to the silence we received from Dallas, Fort Worth responded almost immediately, gathering all the information we asked for within a matter of days. 


In Fort Worth, citizens have access to an app called MyFW.  Through this app, residents can easily submit a complaint regarding an encampment to the city. Once submitted, their complaint is sent to the Homeless Outreach Program and Enforcement Team (the HOPE Team), the Police Department, and the Code Compliance Department. Once the appropriate department has received and filed the complaint, they send a Code Compliance officer out to the location to determine the appropriate course of action. They then proceed to take the necessary steps to reach a solution. During this entire process, the status of the complaint is made available through the MyFW app, allowing the resident to track it in real time and see that their concerns are being heard.


When city leaders are serious about maintaining public safety for their residents, they do what Fort Worth has done. They set up a system for addressing the concerns of residents and do not hesitate to deliver on their needs. 


Meanwhile in Dallas, we cannot even get a response from our city leaders, let alone a real solution to the problem. For example, the Dallas city manager is so out of touch that while we have repeatedly asked for a solution to crime and homelessness, the response he has provided is a completely out of left field ordinance that amounts to nothing but a revenue source for the city, doing nothing whatsoever to address crime.  


Dallas residents deserve a lot better than this, we deserve a system that is as transparent and responsive as the one Fort Worth has adopted.  We deserve a city manager that will comply with the law and ensure that the public can feel safe in their own communities. At a bare minimum, we deserve a response as to why state law is not being enforced. 


For too long, Dallas residents have suffered from the lack of transparency and leadership from elected officials like T.C. Broadnax. Enough is enough, the people of Dallas need answers and solutions now.




Click below and compare both responses yourself:  

Dallas Response to Keep Dallas Safe
Fort Worth Response to Keep Dallas Safe

Weekly Camp Update:

Each week, Keep Dallas Safe takes a trip around the city's districts to document encampments with the purpose of informing the city of their locations, and advocate for the enforcement of the laws protecting residents and businesses from the problems these illegal camps produce. 


We currently track more than 80 encampments around Dallas.

"Most Egregious" Camp

Located in Councilwoman Chad West's District 1


This location has earned the title of "Most Egregious" camp because of its location right next to the Bishop Arts District. 


The Bishop Arts District is nice, uptown area where residents can enjoy a nice meal or drink. Right next door, however, encampments are beginning to pop up. Councilman Chad West needs to get serious about the homeless issue now before it gets any worse!

The "Misanthropic" Camp

Located in Councilman Omar Narvaez's District 6


This location earned the title of the "Misanthropic" camp because of its dark and creepy location, isolated and unwelcoming.


We still have not received a response from District 6's Councilman Omar Narvaez. While it's hard to see from the photo, the living conditions under this bridge are inhumane, where is Omar? 

"The Hideaway" Camp

Located in Councilman Omar Narvaez's District 6


This location earned the title "The Hideaway" camp because it is under North Stemmons Freeway and hard to see from the street.


We approached the camp and found that it's much larger than one would think, housing approximately 10 individuals. Councilman Omar Narvaez needs to address this encampment. 


If you see an encampment in your area, please notify your district councilman with the date and camp location via email.


(Contacts are Linked Below)

Our Mission Statement:

Keep Dallas Safe exists to address crime and homelessness in Dallas with the goal of transforming Dallas into the safest large city in Texas for residents and businesses.

We aim to have a City Council that prioritizes crime rate which directly determines the quality of life in Dallas. We do this by fighting against the "defund the police" movement, holding accountable our city leaders' efforts towards lowering district crime rates, and highlighting our city's homelessness problems by pushing for enforcement of Penal Code 48.05.

Chad West, District 1

Chad.West@dallascityhall.com

Jesse Moreno, District 2

Jesse.Moreno@dallascityhall.com

Casey Thomas, II, District 3

richard.soto@dallascityhall.com

Carolyn King Arnold,District 4

Phil.foster@dallascityhall.com

Jaime Resendez, District 5

jaime.resendez@dallascityhall.com

Omar Narvaez, District 6

Omar.Narvaez@dallascityhall.com

Adam Bazaldua, District 7

Adam.Bazaldua@dallascityhall.com

Tennell Atkins, District 8

maria.salazar2@dallascityhall.com

Paula Blackmon, District 9

paula.blackmon@dallascityhall.com

Adam McGough, District 10

adam.mcgough@dallascityhall.com

Jaynie Schultz, District 11

sophia.figueroa@dallascityhall.com

Cara Mendelsohn, District 12

cara.mendelsohn@dallascityhall.com

Gay Donnell Willis, District 13

gay.willis@dallascityhall.com

Paul E. Ridley, District 14

paul.ridley@dallascityhall.com

To Report an Encampment:

Dial 3-1-1 or Call: (214) 670-3111

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