8 August 10-16, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents children, back into the river. The report also alleges that a young pregnant woman who was enduring a miscarriage had got caught in the border’s razor wire. In an internal email, a state trooper de- tailed concerns about how the line of buoys would force migrants attempting to cross the river into more dangerous areas, thereby increasing the likelihood of drownings. The buoys were introduced because they make it harder for people to either swim beneath or climb over them. State Rep. Jessica González, a Dallas Democrat, is demanding that the governor remove the buoys, razor wire and other physical barriers from the river. “We’re calling on Governor Abbott to #EndTheDeathTraps at our border,” she tweeted recently. “You can join us too. Take the actions below and demand DPS and Gov Abbott to #EndtheDeathTraps! #txlege.” Another Democrat from Dallas, state Rep. Victoria Neave Criado, echoed that sentiment in a tweet from the Mexican American Legis- lative Caucus, which she chairs. “We condemn the heinous death traps at our border,” the lawmaker said in a MALC tweet. “First, DPS whistleblower warns about directives to PUSH women and children back into the Rio Grande. Now, an innocent child has drowned at our border. We urge Gov Abbott to remove the death traps.” (Although Mexican authorities initially reported that the Honduran victim was a child, they later clarified that the migrant was actually a 20-year-old man.) The immigration reform group Ameri- ca’s Voice slammed Abbott in a statement, citing the recent reinstitution of family sep- arations at the border. They also criticized his continued use of “invasion” rhetoric, which is often used by white supremacists like the El Paso shooter, and railed against his focus on “dehumanizing cruelty toward migrants.” America’s Voice Executive Director Van- essa Cárdenas warned against becoming de- sensitized to Texas’ dangerous border policies. “No matter whether you’re an asylum seeker or an economic migrant, you don’t deserve to be scapegoated and dehuman- ized, to face razor wires and buoy lines in- tentionally designed to hurt or kill you, to have your family separated and your inten- tions castigated as harmful,” she said in a statement. “You’re not an ‘invader,’ you’re a mother and a human being. And you don’t deserve to watch your child die in your pur- suit of safety and a better life.” ▼ COURTS OFF THE HOOK DALLAS COUNTY JUDGE RULES PROSTITUTION ORDINANCE UNCONSTITUTIONAL. BY JACOB VAUGHN I qbal Jivani claims he stopped to give some women money for food in North- west Dallas in August 2022. Dallas police officers witnessed what Jivani describes as an act of kindness, but they saw it another way. They pulled Jivani over at a nearby gas station and accused him of violating a city ordinance meant to combat prostitution. Now that ordinance has been ruled un- constitutional. The ordinance prohibits “manifesting the purpose of engaging in prostitution.” Violat- ing it is a Class C misdemeanor, and people cited under it could be fined up to $500. Someone can be cited if they’re a convicted prostitute “loitering” on a street corner, but anyone who repeatedly beckons to others or tries to engage them in conversation on the street or attempts to stop a vehicle by wav- ing, hailing or using any other bodily gesture could face arrest. Before an officer can arrest someone, subjects must be given an opportunity to explain themselves, but cops are free to re- ject the explanation. If the person arrested can demonstrate a lawful reason for their actions in court, they shouldn’t be con- victed. The complaint against Jivani says he was in the 11100 block of Shady Trail, in an area frequented by prostitutes, and stopped to engage passersby in conversation. Jivani contested his arrest, claiming the city’s ordinance was unconstitutionally vague and overbroad and likely to lead to individuals facing arrest for constitution- ally protected behavior, such as engaging in conversation on street corners. The trial court judge agreed and in December quashed the case. The state appealed, but on July 25, County Criminal Court of Ap- peals Judge Kristin Wade affirmed the lower court’s decision, tossed out the case and issued a ruling that the ordinance is unconstitutional. The city did not respond to a request for comment about the ruling. Gary Krupkin, Jivani’s attorney, told the Observer he works many First Amendment cases, but this is the first time he’s had a cli- ent cited under the ordinance. Jivani has been a client of Krupkin’s for some time now regarding business matters. When Jivani was cited last August, he went to Krupkin because he didn’t know who else to turn to. “I took one look at it and I said, ‘Wow, I can’t believe that Dallas is ac- tually using this ordinance,’” Krupkin said. “I mean, it’s completely violative of the First Amendment.” Municipal Court Judge Jay Robinson wrote in his decision that a law is too broad if it punishes both constitutionally protected conduct and illegal activity. Wade wrote that the ordinance targets lawful behaviors, such as talking to passersby and waving at cars, and that enforcement is up to officers’ dis- cretion, raising the threat of bias. Wade said that parts of Dallas with higher crime rates or lower-income populations could lead to the ordinance being enforced in some parts of town, but not others. According to Krupkin, the police body and dash camera video of the stop doesn’t show any type of violation under the ordinance. In- stead, the footage shows only Jivani being stopped after the alleged offense. In body camera footage, Jivani tells offi- cers he was just giving the women money for breakfast, to which one of the officers says, “That’s not a good idea around here.” Jivani has no criminal record and is a law-abiding citizen, Krupkin said. He thinks this ordinance has been used as a pretext to stop and question people in an attempt to find something else to charge them with and is just too broad. “Certainly, a person talking to another person on the street, which is innocuous ac- tivity — it’s absolutely consistent with inno- cent activity — can be construed by the police as being something criminal,” Krup- kin said. “Let’s say, for example, a woman is trying to hail down a cab or trying to tell her Uber driver where she’s located, well, that innocent activity could be construed by the police as being criminal under this ordi- nance and they can stop her.” At that point police can question her and perhaps search her. If they find something illegal, the police can make an arrest. In emails obtained by The Dallas Morning News, police officials said the ordinance won’t be enforced until after discussions with the city attorney’s office. Krupkin is not sure what the city will do with the ordinance now. He said officials could throw it out or try to rewrite it. He also said the city could choose to appeal the decision and take the case could go all the way to the Supreme Court, but he doesn’t think it will get that far. The city has until the middle of this month to appeal ▼ MENTAL HEALTH SAVING THE LIFESAVERS AS DALLAS FIRE-RESCUE WORKS TO ADDRESS MENTAL HEALTH, PROBLEMS PERSIST. BY JACOB VAUGHN F our Dallas firefighters have died by suicide since 2018. Two others have attempted suicide. That’s partly why Dallas Fire-Rescue (DFR) started a new pro- gram a little over a year ago to address the mental health of its firefighters. While it’s hard to measure how well the program is working, some numbers suggest that it has seen some success. Still, long shifts and about 100 vacancies at DFR makes life at the department even harder and more stressful than it already tends to be. According to CBS, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation started tracking these suicides this year. The group has re- corded eight suicides across the country, and Texas leads the list with three. The foundation estimates that 100 to 200 fire- fighters die by suicide every year. The mental health wellness program at DFR uses several tactics to help firefighters and families in need: counseling, interven- tion, therapy and other treatment programs. The department offers several other ser- vices to its ranks to tackle mental health. A peer support group is available with 56 trained people to consult after traumatic or stressful situations. All of this falls under the DFR Care Network, which was created a lit- tle over a year ago. A spokesperson for DFR said it’s hard to measure the success of the network, but members of the department have said they feel reassured knowing that services are out there for them. There have been about 250 contacts with the peer support team in the last seven months. About 180 of those calls were referred to professionals. The Dallas Fire Fighters Association of- fers three months of counseling for free. The city of Dallas also offers paid mental health leave for employees, including those at DFR. A resiliency coordinator and chap- laincy program is also available to people at DFR. Jim McDade, president of the Dallas Fire Fighters Association, said everything from the stresses of what they see on calls to the long hours and hard work of the job can im- pact the mental well-being of firefighters and paramedics at DFR. He thinks the DFR Care Network has helped plenty of people but more could be done to make life easier for firefighters and paramedics at the de- partment. The need for mental health services in DFR has become apparent over the years. There have been multiple suicides at the de- partment over the last decade. Additionally, McDade noted, some employees have had trouble outside of work, such as incurring DWIs, for one example. In 2021, DFR Capt. Kenny Crutcher killed himself. According to McDade, this reignited a push for better mental health services in the department. “Kenny’s my best friend,” he said. “It was a really hard time for me when it happened be- iStock / Getty Images Plus A city ordinance against prositution has been ruled unconstitutional. Unfair Park from p6 >> p10
