Posted by By Shawn Williams – Dallas South News Editor
I wasn’t a fan of the previous Dallas Police Chief. I also wasn’t a fan of how the previous mayor treated the previous police chief. Once all that played out the Dallas Police Department (like much of the city at the time) lacked credibility. At the time I thought that the search should have been national in scope, scouring the nation for someone with a proven track record of success in a big city.
They picked a dude from Arlington.
Kunkle was quiet, unassuming, and a son of the Dallas Police Department. It seemed like home cooking and I didn’t like it. But a funny thing happened….David Kunkle was good at his job.
In the last 5 years Kunkle has been able to skillfully negotiate the divide between the police and the citizens that they protect that exists in most cities. Under Kunkle, the Dallas Police Department has relentlessly fought to reduce crime (or at the very least make sure it’s reported correctly) and gained a fair amount of trust from the people.
“What I am most proud of is the traditional issues which had caused most of the division between people in community and the department have largely ended,” Kunkle told Robert Wilonsky in an interview with the Dallas Observer. We’re not having the problem we used to, things like in-custody deaths,” he said.
The public has taken notice of his efforts, and I think the fact that most people haven’t felt the need to express an opinion one way or another before today regarding the chief is a credit to the job he’s done. He’s not viewed as a guy playing politics (although I’m sure he does) or looking for the spotlight.
He’s also been quick to tell the public when the police department has made mistakes. Chief Kunkle was swift to speak out against the actions of Officer Robert Powell , in the incident regarding NFL player Ryan Moats. “I am embarrassed and disappointed by the behavior of one of our police officers,” said Chief Kunkle according to the Dallas Morning News. “His behavior, in my opinion, did not exhibit the common sense, discretion, the compassion that we expect our officers to exhibit,”Kunkle said.
While the Chief’s quick response helped defuse a potentially explosive situation for the city, it didn’t win him many points with the rank and file officers. There has been talk among officers of slipping morale in the department due in part to Kunkle’s handling of officer misconduct. Funny, that’s the very thing that has won him a certain level of support among the people of Dallas.
The biggest news that the chief stirred up was probably when he decided to marry then CBS 11 City Hall reporter (and my former IBM co-worker) Sarah Dodd. That just underscores the low profile Kunkle was able to keep during his tenure.
You can never fault someone for wanting to go out on top, and that’s exactly what looks like might happen for Kunkle when he retires next April. Hopefully his successor will be able to build on the strides he’s made with the public and keep the officers on the street on board as well.
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