8 December 29, 2022–January 4, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents year the district announced a new safety plan that calls for each DISD school to conduct seven types of standard response protocol (SRP) drills per year. The role and equipment of school re- source officers can vary from district to district. The Richardson Independent School District also uses resource officers in its schools, but unlike DISD resource officers, Richardson’s are armed. Grand Prairie Independent School District also has armed, uniformed officers from the lo- cal police force stationed at many of its schools. Schools that do have armed resource offi- cers typically have only one stationed on campus at a time, another factor that propo- nents of the guardian plan point out. On Dec. 12, DISD Chief of Police John Lawton presented a new set of school safety initiatives to the City Council’s public safety committee. The 12-page presentation in- cluded enhanced measures to secure a school’s outer perimeter, increased entry safety including metal detectors and wands, and further threat assessment training for faculty. Neither the guardian plan nor the in- crease in number of weapons were included in the presentation. Representatives from Dallas, Richardson and Grand Prairie school districts told us that their respective districts haven’t dis- cussed adopting the guardian program in the past, nor do they anticipate the topic arising soon. As for the teachers of the DISD, carry- ing guns to school isn’t something they’re ready to accept, according to Rena Honea, president of Dallas education employees union Alliance-AFT. “The position of Alli- ance-AFT in Dallas regarding arming teachers and school employees is that we are against this reaction to school safety,” Honea wrote in a statement provided to the Observer. Honea noted that when her organization polled its teachers in June, 77% said they were uncomfortable with being armed in the classroom. “They felt that other measures made more sense and that our elected legislators were expected to take action to provide safety measures,” Honea explained. “Teach- ers cannot be expected to become highly trained law enforcement officers and use guns in a crisis without endangering stu- dents or themselves.” It’s fair to question how even teachers who have a certain amount of weapons training will respond to a shooter roaming a school’s halls. When a school responds in the event of a shooting, teachers have a list of responsibilities to manage, without introducing a loaded weapon into a sce- nario that’s likely to be frenzied and wor- risome. DISD uses the standard response proto- cols as outlined by the I Luv U Guys Founda- tion, which means teachers and staff must conduct the “hold,” “secure,” “lockdown,” “evacuate” and “shelter” actions. Each of these response stages involves teachers tak- ing steps such as clearing hallways of peo- ple, ensuring their students are accounted for, locking doors, turning out lights and moving students into safe, out-of-the-way spaces — all while their students are likely, literally, fearing for their lives. This potentially chaotic scenario is why Honea says her union is largely against teachers being armed on campus. “We know from the Uvalde incident,” she said, “that even law enforcement officers make costly mistakes in a crisis situation after being well trained.” ▼ PANHANDLING TAKING A STAND ON STANDING DALLAS SUED FOR BANNING PANHANDLERS FROM STANDING ON MEDIANS. BY JACOB VAUGHN I t seemed like it was only a matter of time before Dallas would be sued over an ordi- nance that banned people from standing on medians. It was. University of Texas at Arlington profes- sor Hannah Lebovits said she worked with the Texas Civil Rights Project to file suit against the city this week over the ordi- nance. Lebovits said in a post on Twitter that she and three others have filed a First Amendment challenge against the city. “This is what we call ‘engaged scholar- ship,’” Lebovits wrote. The city billed the ordinance as a public safety measure, saying people shouldn’t be allowed to stand on medians 6 feet wide or narrower because they could get hit by a car. The ordinance made it a Class C misde- meanor punishable by a fine of up to $500. Dallas has been trying to rid itself of panhan- dlers for years, and you know who stands on medians to beg for money? Panhandlers. The way in which the city’s ordinance was written didn’t specifically target pan- handlers. Instead, it sounds like just about anyone could get stuck with a fine for stand- ing on a median. If that’s how the ordinance is enforced, no problem, as far as the First Amendment is concerned. But there are rea- sons to believe this isn’t how it would be en- forced. The Dallas Police Department’s own chief said officers would use discretion when enforcing the ordinance and that it wouldn’t be their main focus. The interim city marshal said its officers wouldn’t be patrolling Dallas medians to enforce the ordinance. Instead, enforcement would most likely occur when marshals help the City Homeless Solutions and Crisis Man- agement team as it tries to provide ser- vices to the homeless. That make it sound like the city contends it will enforce the ordinance only against homeless people standing on medians and asking for money, which is protected speech under the First Amendment. If it weren’t for Dallas City Council mem- ber Adam Bazaldua, the ordinance would have been passed unanimously in late Octo- ber. At the time, Bazaldua said he didn’t sup- port the ordinance because it went against the city’s goal to deprioritize low-level of- fenses. He also said it seemed to criminalize poverty. “This lawsuit was inevitable, and aside from the unconstitutionality of the ordi- nance, this is exactly why I always felt that passing this was irresponsible and negli- gent of our fiduciary responsibility to the city,” Bazaldua said in a text to the Ob- server. The ACLU even told D Magazine shortly after the ordinance was passed that it was “very possible” someone could sue over it. The city did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday afternoon but often declines to provide statements on pending litigation. Lebovits studies homelessness and teaches about urban planning and public affairs and policy. She said she does her best to embed herself into the homeless community to get a better understanding of their needs. That sometimes takes her to medians where homeless people may be asking for money. “It takes me to medians. It takes me to street corners,” she said. “It takes me to the actual sites in which people are engag- ing in this behavior, not only so that I can observe these individuals but also so that they can maintain their practice and what- ever they’re doing while engaging with me.” So, the ordinance could directly affect her work. “The ordinance, as the city of Dal- las has passed it, would criminalize my ac- tions standing on the medians while engaging in research, while engaging in out- reach, while engaging in just general empa- thy and kindness. They’re criminalizing that behavior.” The Texas Civil Rights Project filed the suit with Southern Methodist University First Amendment Law Clinic and Waters Kraus & Paul, LLP, on behalf of Lebovits and three others, two of whom are homeless people living in the city of Dallas. “To get the funds I need for my basic survival, I frequently stand within four feet of the street and use medians of less than six feet to panhandle,” Alton Wag- goner, one of the homeless plaintiffs in the lawsuit said in the press release. “Without the ability to do so, it would be impossible to buy food, water, and other basic neces- sities. I live in constant fear of police ha- rassment and enforcement of the newly passed ordinance.” The other homeless plaintiff is Teri Heishman. “The new ordinance poses a se- rious barrier for my survival because it pre- vents me from even sitting on the sidewalk or street corner to ask pedestrians for help,” Heishman said in the press release. “I have no money to pay a citation, but pan- handling is currently my only method of survival.” The third plaintiff is Kawana Scott, community organizer and chair of the Dallas Alliance Against Racist and Politi- cal Repression. Scott said she worries about the implications the ordinance has for protesters. “Medians give demonstrators unique ac- cess to the public,” Scott said in the press re- lease. “My use of medians for First Amendment activities is informed by the history of the Civil Rights Movement, where rallies and protests frequently occurred on medians and areas adjacent to the streets and were critical to achieving civil liberties victories.” ▼ LEGISLATURE DEADLY ENOUGH DALLAS POLICE HAVE INJURED PROTESTERS WITH ‘LESS-LETHAL’ AMMO. THIS TEXAS BILL WOULD BAN ITS USE. BY JACOB VAUGHN I n the summer of 2020, several people in Dallas were seriously injured by what is known as less-lethal ammunition. The ammo was fired by police officers in a sup- posed attempt to control protesters like those who had gathered in streets across the country to protest police brutality Officers fired less-lethal ammunition like rubber bullets or sponge rounds into the crowds of protesters. Less-lethal am- munition is essentially designed to inca- pacitate, not kill. But, it can cause The lawsuit says Dallas’ anti-panhandling measures have all been about scoring political points. Hannly Sam via Flickr Unfair Park from p6
