The Balch Springs City Council voted Monday to remove a board and commission member because they said she violated a new policy that prohibits board members from speaking out against the city had served on the Park and Recreation Advisory Board and the Flood and Drainage Committee since last spring She said she is being unfairly removed for speaking out on city policies on Facebook She said it’s not the first time a board member has been removed for sharing thoughts about the city on social media “I believe it's collectively not just me,” Reaka said “There have been multiple people that talk about things on Facebook because [city council members] don't seem to listen when you're in their face Last month the council passed a set of new policies for board and commission members requiring them to “[protect] the city’s reputation." that disparages and damages the city’s reputation The policy includes consequences such as “disciplinary action including potential removal from the board or commission.” KERA reached out to city council members who voted for the policy and did not receive a response who served on the committee that recommended the policy said during last month’s meeting that board members should adhere to the same policies as staff “We've put in place something for employees and the staff if they go online and say things about the city or place things but hold certain standards that we are supposed to hold ourselves to as well the city attorney advised the council to keep in mind that board members have a first amendment right Reaka called the policy a “dangerous precedent” that violates free speech rights It was that message that led to her removal two fellow board members spoke in support of Reaka and said it was unfair to remove her "You’re taking our committee members when it’s very hard to serve on these committees and boards,” said David Stone “All of us in this room should be recognized for taking our time to come in here and do what we can do to help our city.” The two council members who voted against the removal were Yemi Salau and Vincent Gabriel Reaka said she plans to continue showing up to meetings and is looking into taking legal action against the city “We've got some really amazing things in the works and I'm not going to let them stop that progress,” she said Priscilla Rice is KERA’s communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.  KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today The Balch Springs City Council on Monday honored Fort Worth activist Opal Lee for her dedication to civil rights The city recognized the “grandmother of Juneteenth” for passing through Balch Springs during her historic walk from Fort Worth to Washington in 2016 to make Juneteenth a national holiday Lee began to walk two-and-a-half miles every day representing the two-and-a-half years that Black Texans waited for news of their freedom after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863 Balch Springs Mayor Carrie Gordon awarded Lee with the key to the city and proclaimed September as “Dr. Opal Lee, Grandmother of Juneteenth, Month.” The proclamation commemorates the first 60 miles of Lee’s walk which brought her through the streets of Balch Springs in September 2016 Lee led a movement for all people,” Gordon said expressed her gratitude but emphasized that her work is not done “Change somebody’s mind… because if people can be taught to hate In July, President Joe Biden awarded Lee the Presidential Medal of Freedom Zara Amaechi is KERA’s Marjorie Welch Fitts Louis fellow covering race and social justice. Got a tip? Email Zara at zamaechi@kera.org. You can follow her on X @amaechizara KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today By Matt KyleBreaking News Reporter 14 in a home in the 13000 block of Horseshoe Trail called 911 and reported her daughter was having difficulty breathing first responders smelled a foul odor coming from Villegas’ bedroom Police said rigor and livor mortis had set in indicating she had been dead for at least six hours and possibly up to a day The release said Villegas appeared extremely malnourished and had multiple bruises and contusions on her body Family members told police that Villegas had severe autism and was nonverbal Crime in The NewsRead the crime and public safety news your neighbors are talking about GoogleFacebookBy signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy An examination of Villegas’ body showed multiple wounds deep enough to expose bone Investigators also determined she had been lying in the same position for a prolonged period Canales said that she had been treating Villegas’ wounds with Neosporin and that she did not seek medical care for her because her daughter would become violent Canales also said Villegas had been breathing earlier in the day and had walked out of her room to eat food detectives determined that medical attention should have been sought for Villegas Police said Canales’ alleged failure to obtain medical care for her daughter would constitute reckless conduct Canales was arrested and is expected to be charged with injury to a disabled person She was transported to the Balch Springs jail and was awaiting transfer to the Dallas County jail It was unclear if she had retained an attorney He is a graduate of Baylor University and is a native of San Antonio Matt has written for the Waco Tribune-Herald This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Check the county website for more information. Early voting hours:Oct 21-26, 7 a.m.- 7 p.m.Oct. 27, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.Oct. 28-Nov. 1, 7 a.m.-7 p.m. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. The polls are closed in Texas. Click here to see who won the races where you live Coach and student caught on video with air mattress in school hallwayby SBG San Antonio Staff Reports Texas - A longtime Texas middle school coach is under arrest accused of grooming a student in north Texas Sergio Gonzalez is at the center of the allegations Back in August school administrators started investigating Gonzalez's inappropriate relationship with a 14-year-old student administrators then discovered a shocking video from July showing Gonzalez and the girl in the school's empty hallway The coach and student were holding hands walking in with pillows and blankets and an air mattress and the next day coming out of the classroom wearing different clothes Police say the coach is also accused of giving the 14-year-old gifts including Police don't believe there are other victims Gonzales is in jail on a 60-thousand dollar bond Closure at 635 and 175 due to a mass of animal debris on the road UPDATE 9-19-2024: According to a spokesperson from the Balch Springs Police Department a collector and recycler of used cooking oil and inedible meat by-products based in Dallas.____________________________________________ Grisly body parts spread across I-635.BSPD There's plush new accommodations coming to American Airlines with the debut of American’s premium Flagship Suite seats aboard the airline’s newest Boeing 787-9 aircraft customers dying to be the first to sit in the new seats can purchase tickets for the inaugural flight June 5 from Chicago O’Hare (ORD) to Los Angeles (LAX) for Flight 2012 which will then return to ORD for its inaugural Flagship Suite service to London Heathrow (LHR) as Flight 98 American will also operate the new 787-9 from Philadelphia (PHL) to LHR and Zurich (ZRH) The Flagship Suite service will then be available in the fall with service from Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) to Brisbane American welcomed two new 787-9 planes to Dallas-Fort Worth on Tuesday and anticipates a total of 30 new aircraft will join the fleet family between now and 2029 The airline expects to grow its lie-flat and Premium Economy seating by 50 percent by the end of the decade Primarily utilized for long-haul international flights customers traveling on American’s 787-9 will delight in the 51 Flagship Suite seats at the front of the aircraft more personal storage space with a wireless charging pad and a one-of-a-kind chaise lounge seating option with an adjustable headrest pillow as well as access to American’s Flagship lounge with free regionally inspired dishes and signature cocktails Inflight Flagship Suite service offers a multicourse meal with wines,plus amenity kits containing skincare items and a dual-sided pillow with cool touch fabric on one side and traditional fabric on the other “Every aspect of our new 787-9 is designed to feel premium in nature,” said Heather Garboden having the opportunity to explore other parts of the world should be an exciting and memorable experience that begins the moment you book your flight long before you reach your final destination.”Looking ahead American’s Flagship Suite® seats will be available on all newly delivered 787-9 aircraft as well as new Airbus A321XLR aircraft and the airline’s retrofitted Boeing 777-300ER Share on FacebookShare on X (formerly Twitter)Share on PinterestShare on LinkedInBALCH SPRINGS Texas (TMX) - A Texas teacher is facing charges after school officials allegedly found surveillance video that showed him spending the night inside a school with a 14-year-old student over the summer Sergio Gonzalez, a 54-year-old teacher and coach at A.C. New Middle School in Balch Springs, was arrested for child grooming, a third-degree felony, police announced Wednesday Mesquite Independent School District began looking into allegations of an improper relationship between Sergio Gonzalez and a 14-year-old girl after three employees reported their concerns in August They placed him on administrative leave on Aug The allegations initially involved “text messages between the student and the teacher making inappropriate comments,” Balch Springs Police Officer Pedro Gonzalez told KDFW-TV A district employee then discovered surveillance video from summer break that allegedly showed Sergio Gonzalez and the girl spending the night together at the school “There was video footage of the individuals walking down the hallways spending the night at the school,” Officer Gonzalez said the video also showed “the suspect grabbing the victim’s buttocks and then walking down the hallway while holding hands before entering the classroom.” the girl was “downplaying the situation while demonstrating her deep concern for [Gonzalez] and what happens to him,” according to the affidavit “And that’s why this has been such a lengthy investigation,” Officer Gonzalez said “Building this case where the victim is not cooperating 100%.” Other children told investigators that Sergio Gonzalez gave the girl gifts touched her inappropriately and gave her rides Balch Springs police say additional charges could still be filed A NONVERBAL autistic woman has been found dead in her mother's home after she was starved to the point of looking like a child Delilah Villegas, 19, was found covered in sores and lying dead in the fetal position when her body was discovered in her family's Texas home on Valentine's Day Cops arrived at Villegas' home in Balch Springs called 911 and said her daughter was struggling to breathe they noticed a foul smell emanating from Villegas' room and uncovered her "mummified" corpse Balch Springs Officer Pedro Gonzalez said at a conference Saturday "They thought she was probably 13 and didn't realize she was 19 years old skin to bone," the horrified cop said "There was large lacerations exposing decaying limbs She looked like she was in a mummified state on the floor." especially since she lived with her mother Canales claimed that her daughter was "violent" with others and said that she didn't try to get her medical assistance, according to an affidavit seen by CBS affiliate KTVT. Meanwhile, the grandmother claimed she hadn't seen the teen in weeks, and the great-uncle told cops he hadn't laid eyes on her for a year. Canales was arrested on Friday, but no charges have been filed against other family members. two pallets of comforters with sheets and pillows Canales claimed that her daughter had just had a handful of Goldfish crackers earlier in the day Villegas has horror bed sores on her body that left exposed bones on her right thigh Canales said she was treating them with Neosporin The medical examiner is still investigating exactly how she died Records show that Villegas last went to a hospital in 2021, but there haven't been any medical calls to the house since then, Fox affiliate KDFW reported Detectives came to the home that same year on a wellness call but said they didn't notice anything out of the ordinary hadn't seen her niece in years and said she had a "gut feeling" that something bad was happening Some of Villegas' favorite activities were playing outside and organizing all of her stuffed animals," Pardo said "It's heartbreaking," said Pardo who was siblings with Villegas' late father "To know that she's in the hands of God and with my brother Pardo only heard about the teen from Villegas' older sister she feels guilty for not trying to see her gone-too-soon niece with her own eyes "I do say that I have a blame in all this," she said because I had a gut feeling that something was wrong." Canales is in county jail and facing charges of serious bodily injury to a disabled person under her care Gonzales said they interviewed friends and neighbors of the mom who described her as a "great mother" who was always home He said they're investigating everyone who could have been responsible for allowing Villegas' horrific decline you sort of wonder what was going through her mind where she couldn't communicate or even share some of her pain or suffering to others so that she can get additional help," said Gonzalez "If someone would have noticed or would have been concerned about the child and maybe we wouldn't be here if that would have happened." A small memorial has been set up outside Villegas' home The Biden administration declared a disaster for Dallas County Wednesday in the wake of last week's severe storms that knocked out power for about half a million people The disaster declaration allows affected areas to apply for federal assistance through FEMA. The administration also opened up disaster recovery centers in Denton, Eastland and Waller counties "This will bring much needed assistance to our Dallas County residents who are still recovering from the severe storms and straight-line winds,” Jenkins wrote in a statement For assistance with things like temporary housing, home repairs, property loss and other expenses, homeowners and renters can apply online download the FEMA App or call 800-621-3362 between 6 a.m County officials said last week it could take weeks to finish cleanup in the wake of the storms Oncor Electric has spent days repairing most of the outages though by Wednesday evening thousands of people in North Texas were still without power Chastity Lopez sat outside her Balch Springs home watching Oncor workers attempt to fix power lines on her street finding more comfort outside than inside her home without working A/C Lopez had been without power for more than a week her neighborhood lost power again Tuesday morning As the workers focused intently on their repairs Lopez clasped her hands together in prayer "Please bring us back our power already," she said Lopez and thousands of other frustrated North Texans were still struggling with sporadic power outages even as tens of thousands more had their power completely restored over the weekend Her neighborhood in Dallas County was impacted as multiple streets waited for power to return It's not clear why her neighborhood lost power again Oncor did not confirm the precise reason for the outage but spokesperson Grant Cruise did say the company sometimes initiates “temporary safety driven outages” as crews restore power to nearby impacted areas He was without power since losing it for the second time around 9 a.m He's on a fixed income with a disability and lost about $150 worth of food so he spent the last week eating non-perishable items like canned foods and bread Gaddis is concerned this won’t be the last time this happens this summer “This isn't even the first time this year I've lost power here for a day or two,” Gaddis said His concerns were heightened by anxiety over the state of the Texas power grid. Texas is the only state to have its own independent grid from the rest of the country, and though the past week's outages were not due to grid failure, it brought up memories of previous failures like the winter storm of 2021 — and he said it made him prepare for the worst Gaddis has experienced multiple outages since January there a lot of elderly people living alone and he's concerned as this summer’s weather is projected to hover around 100 degrees daily Lopez said she also lost food and had to pay for a large tree that fell in front of her house to be removed After a few days without power and lack of resources from the city We had trees in the road and they just left us out here to be hot with our kids.” Landfill companies across North Texas have seen thousands of tons of debris from broken trees since last week and continue to make their way across cities to pick up more As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 57,000 customers across Texas were without power Dallas County had as many as 2,000 customers without power earlier Wednesday but that number eventually dropped below 1,000 Melissa Smith and her husband are retired and were home when they heard the power go out on their street They were using a generator since last week’s outage The couple also kept multiple neighbors’ perishable foods in their refrigerator and freezer for five days until the power was restored Sunday most of her neighbors had already left for work “People can't afford to replace their food again,” Smith said “Everything they got is going back in the trash.” The utility company said they are not financially responsible for food customers lost amid the storms There is no current estimation when power will be fully restored on the company's website Smith hoped the power would return not just for herself “I feel so sorry for them it makes me want to cry,” Smith said "Because they're our friends and they're our neighbors and there’s nothing we can do.” Penelope Rivera is KERA’s news intern. Got a tip? Email Penelope at privera@kera.org Get the best experience and stay connected to your community with our Spectrum News app. Learn More rain and tornadoes hit parts of North Texas over Memorial Day weekend Those in Houston and other areas are also still recovering from severe weather leaving many in the dark and in need of assistance Here are some funds providing aid to those in need across the state The American Red Cross has opened several shelters for victims of severe storms across Texas Here are all the shelters that are currently open: Red Cross shelters offer free disaster assistance to everyone in need The Red Cross encourages those who plan to stay at shelters to bring their prescription medications For an up-to-date list on all Red Cross shelters open, visit the American Red Cross website United Way of Denton County has set up a relief fund to help those affected by the May 25 tornado Any amount is accepted and 100% of all funds will be given to those in need The Salvation Army of North Texas collaborated with The Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services (EDS) to deploy three mobile kitchens and a rapid response unit to affected communities in Lake Ray Roberts Marina basic comforts and emotional and spiritual assistance to those in need The Salvation Army provided over 600 meals “Today was an emotional day that started with our team serving first responders who had been searching for storm survivors all night They were exhausted and repeatedly told us how grateful they were to see The Salvation Army,” said Lt Minuteman Disaster Response (MDR) is accepting donations to provide aid to victims of severe storms in Celina The organization responded to those in need on Sunday in the wake of the tornado that hit Celina Noemi Flores had her apartment flood at Spring Oaks Apartments in August She spent more than a month living at the Comfort Inn and Suites in Balch Springs From KERA: About 15 families from the Spring Oaks apartment complex called a Comfort Inn and Suites home more than a month after the flood But the money for hotel rooms is running out Lisa Gager spent the past month in a small hotel room on the fourth floor of the hotel The city of Balch Springs paid for the first week at the hotel nobody has any more funding,” Gager said Gager’s Spring Oaks apartment flooded in August She remembers waking up in the dark early that morning to hysterical screaming it was because of the ankle-deep flood waters seeping into people’s first-floor apartments Gager said she and her family spent 12 hours sweeping water out of her apartment with brooms “Our backs were hurting,” she said “We had blisters on our hands from holding the brooms for so long.” Gager and her family moved out of their apartment about a week after the flood so it could be repaired Gager’s last day at the hotel was Friday She said her apartment won’t be repaired until March or April so Gager and her family are living with her mother for now The hotel room they moved into at the Comfort Inn and Suites was small — the two queen beds covered in fluffy white duvets took up most of the space And there was a constant hum from the air conditioner Gager had shared that room with her disabled 41-year-old nephew and his dad who has survived two heart attacks and four strokes who’s autistic and has intellectual disabilities stayed with a friend from church because he didn’t want to share a bed with his mother It’s the first time they’ve ever lived apart Gager doesn’t know when her apartment at Springs Oaks will be habitable again She could break her lease without penalty and move somewhere else but her family can’t afford to do that “Everything that I’ve already checked into is over like $2,000 or more a month and we’re all on fixed income,” she said Gager relies on disability payments because of a back injury She’s not the only former Spring Oaks resident on a fixed income Noemi Flores also relies on disability payments She’s also supposed to have surgery on her spine The doctors say Flores could be paralyzed if she waits much longer Lisa Gager and Noemi Flores sit in the lobby at the Comfort Inn and Springs in Balch Springs They spent a more than a month living in the hotel after their apartments flooded in August But Flores needs to be somewhere she can recover for months after the surgery Doctors say that’s not the hotel room where Flores has been the past month after her apartment flooded She shares a room with her teenage daughter at the Comfort Inn and Suites Flores said she and her daughter are tired of sharing a room “Not because I don’t want to be around her but it’s just that we have no privacy,” she said Flores found an apartment at another complex that won’t be ready until the end of the month She doesn’t know where she and her daughter will go in the meantime Flores said she spent three days calling everyone she could think of for help Gager tried to help her nephew get food stamps but the documents he needs to qualify got destroyed in the flood There isn’t any aid available from FEMA President Biden would have to declare a federal disaster for that to happen the director of the Dallas office of emergency management said at a city council meeting that Dallas didn’t meet the requirements for that “Dallas County has to meet a threshold of $10.7 million of uninsured damages to households before we can see that presidential declaration,” he said The Small Business Administration is offering low-interest federal loans to homeowners and renters whose property was destroyed during the flood A minimum of 25 homes have to be damaged to meet the threshold for an SBA loan according to the Dallas office of emergency management Dallas County and the state of Texas had 75 homes that were majorly damaged or destroyed The governor requested a disaster declaration from the SBA Sep Renters can apply for loans up to $40,000 with interest as low as 2.2% with terms up to 30 years The deadline to apply for property damage is Nov The water ruined a lot of Gager’s belongings She had just bought new furniture a few months prior to the flood Her son’s wooden bedroom set was destroyed So was a juke box her four children bought her for Mother’s Day But Gager doesn’t want to apply for a loan She said it’s not fair to expect people to pay a loan with interest for help “Why should we have to pay a loan back?” Gager said The rest of Gager’s belongings are in a storage pod She said she’s glad she packed more than she thought she would need for the time she didn’t have a place to call home “I did a little bit of everything just in case but never did I think it was going to be this long,” Flores said If you found the reporting above valuable, please consider making a donation here. Your gift helps pay for everything you find on texasstandard.org and KERA ©2024 Texas Standard. A service of the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin | Contact us Wildfire Today A grass fire burned into a suburb of Dallas Texas Monday afternoon destroying 9 homes and damaging another 17 It occurred in Balch Springs when a mower struck an object in a field creating a spark which ignited dry grass near Interstate 20 and South Beltline Road A steady breeze pushed the fire into a row of houses adjacent to the field One by one the fire ignited house after house aided by a fence that ran behind and between all of the homes which contributed to the fuel load and the continuous spread In the 30-minute video below very few firefighters are seen for the first 20 minutes with an estimated population of about 25,000 in 2019 has about eight firefighters working on any given day The fire was well established when the video began Looking at the video from a firefighter’s perspective it is interesting to see how the fire progresses as the fence and outbuildings burn intensely a dog in a backyard looks worried (at 17:48) and little is seen in the video to initially stop the spread through the field or the neighborhood However we don’t see the street side of the homes except at the very beginning; there may have been more firefighter activity on that side There was a tower/ladder truck in the street that looked like it kept about four houses from being destroyed Our hearts go out to the residents who lost their homes Typos, let us know HERE, and specify which article. Please read the commenting rules before you post a comment Wildfire Today readers maybe interested in recent article on spread rates of grassfires under critical burning conditions: https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/5/2/55 What’s wrong with the Fire Service there in Texas Balch Springs is at the edge of a major metropolitan area and near the WUI we’d have mutual aid in the initial tone out and there would be an upgrade to second alarm with a request for air support which at the 20 minute point in this event jump on this like flies on (you fill the blank.) Or is the Texas philosophy “we can do it ourselves?” Given the fast spread of a grassfire and those wind speeds and the number of houses burning in the first row it is amazing how only 20 or so got destroyed/severely damaged The fire would have take less than a couple of minutes to reach the first houses maybe the relatively low number of damaged houses is a testament to the quick fire fighting response and the fact that home owners were on site to extinguish fire brands from the burning houses Maybe the fire service can be credited to have saved ten of houses Some areas might have USFWS or BIA that will come help In my jurisdiction in 2 decades I have never seen an aircraft used on a fire and that can get sketchy during the busy season Few of our fires last through the first burning period We will have them go hundreds or thousands of acres So unless other resources are stationed close by they won’t show up until the show is over As stated perhaps the response limited the damage The fire was likely already to the fence and potentially in the back yards of multiple homes before the first unit was toned out They received mutual aid from Mesquite and Dallas Enter your email address to receive notifications of new posts by email Editor's note: This story has been updated with the news that Roy Oliver was sentenced to 15 years in prison DALLAS — The body camera footage changed everything from the beginning The day after police officer Roy Oliver fatally shot 15-year-old Jordan Edwards in April 2017 the Balch Springs police said the car of unarmed teens leaving a party was moving aggressively toward officers when Oliver fired into it he walked back the statement and acknowledged that the car was moving away from police Oliver was quickly fired and charged with murder the footage from the cameras clipped to the chests of Oliver and his partner was played repeatedly and touched almost every piece of evidence brought forward by the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office Jurors watched videos and detailed frame-by-frame comparisons that showed the officers peacefully responding to a house party before gunshots rang into the night prompting them to dash from the house up the street They heard Oliver’s partner yell for the car driven by Edwards’ brother to stop as it slowly backed onto the intersecting street and they saw Oliver fire five rounds into the vehicle as it was moving away from the officers And that footage likely played a large role in the jury’s incredibly rare guilty verdict handed down Tuesday after more than 13 hours of deliberation Oliver was convicted of murder and found not guilty of two counts of aggravated assault The same jury sentenced him to 15 years in prison Wednesday night The possible punishment for murder in Texas ranges from 5 years to life The use of police body cameras surged after the 2014 death of Michael Brown in Ferguson Advocates hoped their use would increase transparency and hold officers accountable precisely what it appeared to do in the case of Oliver But studies on the effects of body cameras have uncovered mixed results and Oliver’s conviction is still the exception in police shootings largely because of the wide discretion officers have when they decide to pull the trigger “[Oliver’s] stands out as one of the kinds of cases that I think people thought were going to be quite common and have actually been much less common than what advocates expected,” said Rachel Levinson-Waldman senior counsel and body camera expert with the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law “What the officer has to do to be held accountable legally has to be so outside the norm so I think there’s often a lot of sympathy.” It’s not unusual for police officers to walk around with cameras on their chests anymore. Five of the six Texas cities with a population over 500,000 have already deployed the cameras in their police departments, and El Paso, the outlier, appears to be getting them soon the Texas Legislature passed a law regulating body camera training and policies (Another bill that would have required cameras for all public-facing officers died quickly the same year.) Footage from the body cameras, as well as videos from police dashboard cameras and witness cell phones, have become commonplace in the news and on social media. And while it’s not uncommon for the videos to raise attention or create public outcry, their use in police prosecution is still rare A 2016 George Mason University study showed that only 8 percent of prosecutors who used body camera evidence in criminal cases across the nation used it against a police officer while almost all had used it as evidence against citizens and video has often played an important role in those cases both former Dallas Police Department officers pleaded guilty and received probation sentences within the last year after separate nonfatal shootings Video footage from a neighbor’s security camera and a dashboard camera And in a high-profile shooting in South Carolina in 2015 cell phone video showed officer Michael Slager shooting at Walter Scott eight times as he ran away “There’s a lot of truth to the idea of ‘no video co-founder of Mothers Against Police Brutality “He would have never seen a courtroom without that video.” But there’s a big gap between prosecution and convictions in jury trials and multiple cases nationwide have shown that it is nearly impossible for a jury to unanimously agree to send an officer to prison for an on-duty shooting Slager’s jury couldn’t agree in his murder trial forcing a mistrial (though he later pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison The jury’s decision — or lack thereof — in Slager’s case isn’t unique. In 2015, body camera footage of the shooting of Samuel DuBose in Ohio after he began to move his car away from the officer led to two hung juries; the Minnesota officer who shot Philando Castile in 2016 after he reached down was acquitted of charges of manslaughter and reckless discharge of a firearm “The hope was there’s going to be an account of this incident and that will be the infallible nobody can disagree about what they’re seeing,” said Levinson-Waldman People still bring their own interpretive lens to it.” officers claim being in fear for their life an officer’s decision to use force — including deadly force — is judged on a question: Would a reasonable officer shoot if they were in the same situation Oliver’s lawyers stressed in trial that hindsight or any future knowledge are not to be taken into account — only the information available in the often split-second decision to fire “You have to take yourselves and put yourself in Officer Oliver’s boots,” defense attorney Bob Gill said Monday in his closing arguments “We can look at it now and think Roy wasn’t right — that doesn’t matter.” Even with video evidence showing that the car carrying Edwards was already past Oliver’s partner and the clear picture showing the wheels were turning away from officers a camera doesn’t show the jury what was happening in Oliver’s head Oliver even acknowledged on the stand last week that if he knew then what he knew now he would not have made the same decision to fire into the car and kill who he know recognizes was an innocent kid: There were no weapons alcohol or drugs found in the car or at the house party the teens were leaving the driver’s continual movement despite his partner’s commands to stop Gross’ rising pitch and the narrowing distance between the car (he was approaching it) Edwards’ moving silhouette in the passenger seat and the car moving from reverse to drive all led him to his fatal decision slow down button,” Oliver said on the witness stand Thursday “I had a lot of information to process real fast and I almost watched my partner get hit by a car.” Gross testified in the first day of trial that he himself never felt in fear for his life that he had seen the car was filled with “just boys,” but he also pointed out that he couldn’t say how the situation looked to Oliver It’s this leaning to justify a police officer’s use of force if they reasonably believed at the time that there was an immediate threat that has some advocates like Fullinwider fighting for more action to hold officers accountable — like federal prosecution on civil rights charges in every police shooting case “As a tool for documenting brutality and police homicide and as a tool for raising awareness of the nation “But they haven’t led to accountability even in very egregious shootings.” But there’s an exception in the state law that may have hurt Oliver — even if the jury found that he reasonably believed the driver of the car that doesn’t justify his killing another person which asked during deliberations to get a copy of Oliver’s testimony about his description of Edwards’ silhouette seemingly trying to judge if Oliver was threatened by Edwards Oliver testified that he did perceive Edwards as a threat at the time because of his movements: “I do not know what that passenger was trying to do or get.” and two white men — decided that Oliver’s actions weren’t justified Though Oliver’s conviction will undoubtedly be appealed and data since 2005 shows four of the five on-duty police shooting murder convictions were overturned on appeal they have made a historical statement: the high bar to convict a police officer of murder can be overcome Choose an amount or learn more about membership By Isabella VolmertBreaking News Fellow filed the lawsuit Friday in Dallas County to recover the amount it paid out on their claims — at least $1 million — from Sikka Investments Multiple phone calls made to numbers listed for Sikka Investments were not returned Tuesday The three homeowners lived on Broadview and Elm Point drives in the Spring Ridge subdivision the neighborhood adjacent to the 67-acre lot where the fire started Breaking NewsGet the latest breaking news from North Texas and beyond when a mower blade sparked against a sharp object and ignited the field there’s just a whole lot of material to burn at that point,” Balch Springs Fire Marshal Sean Davis said in August The fire spread quickly and damaged 27 homes The lawsuit says the three residents’ homes were destroyed or damaged to the point they were uninhabitable authorities estimated total property damage exceeded $6 million an attorney representing State Farm Lloyds expected other insurers will join the lawsuit Documents show the group also had at least one code violation — issued in early July — in Dallas for grass in excess of 12 inches on a Buckner Boulevard property including the site of the Balch Springs fire are located at the corners of major roads and all but one are adjacent to gas stations Two properties border residential neighborhoods similar to how the Balch Springs property borders the Spring Ridge subdivision Sikka Investments acquired the Balch Springs land on the corner of Belt Line Road and Interstate 20 according to Dallas County appraisal records the current location of a Fox Fuels gas station in September 2021 to Mountain Express Oil Co. a gas station real estate and distribution company based in Georgia Balch Springs issued a citation to the owners of the vacant field to appear in court following two requests to cut the grass, which had grown past code standards, authorities said at the time of the blaze. Residents have said they complained to the city multiple times about the overgrowth and height of the grass. She is a recent graduate of the University of Notre Dame She previously served the DMN as a breaking news intern and has worked at the South Bend Tribune and the Missourian of Washington The fire started as workers mowed a nearby field at the northwest corner of Interstate 20 and South Belt Line Road according to Balch Springs Fire Marshal Sean Davis though officials are still investigating whether anyone is at fault By Monday evening the grass fire had been contained and the house fires were out and officials said they were investigating whether someone was at fault Some neighborhood residents tried to stave off the fire with garden hoses Others had just minutes to get out of their homes Just everything,” said homeowner Miguel Quinonez who had lived in the house with his wife for almost 14 years He said he’d just bought a new truck that burned in the garage The fire in Balch Springs, a town of about 25,000 people just southeast of Dallas, came as firefighters across North Texas are battling fires that have destroyed dozens of homes, with drought and unseasonably high temperatures creating dangerous conditions. The fire marshal said the Balch Springs field tends to have a few fires a year that are put out quickly. “It’s happening in a lot of places, just people out cutting hay or grass or something, and they’re clipping something they didn’t see, and it’s starting a fire and then traveling like crazy,” Davis said. Officials don’t have an exact number of those displaced. They will give an update at 9 a.m. Tuesday to let residents know when they can return. “We’re in unique weather conditions right now,” with hot weather and dry ground. Wanda Blanchette-Ware said she barely had time to wake up her son Jacoby Ogunniyi and two dogs, Bella and Lola, to get out of their Balch Springs house as the fire approached. Her son works during the day and had slept through the police knocking on the door. She said she went and banged on his window. “Honey there’s a fire, please get up!” she said, awakening him. Blanchette-Ware said she saw her neighbors watering their grass but the fire was too strong. ”Then the wind came and blew the fire all the way down the street,” she said. As the fire spread, the fire marshal called for an evacuation of all homes and structures on Broadview Drive and Bell Manor Court, which also backs up to the field where the grass fire started. Balch Springs City Manager Susan Cluse said the city is working with the Red Cross to set up an overnight shelter at a city recreation center, and some local hotels will put up residents and their pets for a longer period of time. The Red Cross will help displaced residents get essentials, find temporary housing and start insurance documentation. Residents whose homes weren’t damaged can stay in them. “Right now, we don’t know where we’re going to spend the night tonight,” said Roberto Pinero, whose home of 13 years, that he had recently remodeled, was destroyed. He said his son called him about the fire, and “when I went and opened the back door the fire hit my face, and I take my family out.” Fire crews from Dallas and other nearby cities assisted Balch Springs crews. Residents said there have been several recent fires in the area. Some expressed concern that the grass in the field where the fire started had been allowed to grow too tall. “That area has been undeveloped for so long, it’s just like kindling out there,” said Joe Perez, a homeowner who lives about four houses away from the fire. Figures from the Dallas Central Appraisal District showed that the homes were built around 2005 and appraised in the mid-$200,000s. Michael Jaramillo was at work when he got texts alerting him that his home was on fire. It was among the destroyed houses. “It’s just sad. I don’t really care about the things, all the clothes and stuff,” he said. “I’m thinking about the things I can’t get back, the photos of my brothers and sisters and everything like that.” Resident Wendy Reppond was searching the neighborhood Monday afternoon for her cat, Miss Kitty. Reppond said she was able to grab her two dogs and bird, but she didn’t have time to find the bird cage. “The third house down from me, that one’s gone,” she said. “I can’t find my cat. They won’t let me back in to find my cat.” The Associated Press contributed to this report. He previously worked as a metro reporter at The Charlotte Observer and covered local government for the Tampa Bay Times By Steve Thompson a black council member greeted her white police chief with a hug sweeping an arm around Jonathan Haber after this week’s City Council meeting where a white police officer’s killing of Jordan Edwards the city leaders greeted one another with warmth relationships among the races are both strained and complicated Just a few months ago, Adams sued her white colleagues on the council, alleging they repeatedly discriminated against her because she is black. The suit came after the city's police department, made up mostly of white officers, arrested her for making a 911 call from a Dollar General She'd made the call — which she later acknowledged was a mistake — to make a point; she was frustrated at how long it had taken police to respond to thefts at the store Adams is one of four black members on the seven-member council After her misdemeanor conviction for abusing the 911 system three white council members prevailed in a vote to force her from office Her lawsuit says the vote was based on a mistaken reading of the city charter “This flawed interpretation was used as a pretext to improperly remove a black woman,” the suit says alleging other council members wanted to replace her with a white woman and it makes other allegations of discrimination It claims a white council member once said in a meeting “that her family had moved to Balch Springs in the 1960s because it was an ‘all white town.’ ” Council member Charlene Rushing said she made the comment but that the suit took it grossly out of context ‘Then I married the Mexican boy next door and had two kids and those two little babies changed my dad,’ ” she said “We had a bad reputation at one time,” Rushing says of the town And Balch Springs has been changing for decades the city’s black population has nearly doubled while its white population has reduced by half 80 percent of  the city’s 25,000 residents are minorities whites and Hispanics often live side-by-side along the same streets and in similar working-class circumstances the average market value of a home here was $80,150 compared with $216,185 in all of Dallas County After its incorporation in 1953 and through the ’70s these communities began attracting an increasing number of both Mexican immigrants and black families working their way into the middle class after the civil rights movement Arnold Ray Brooks was one of three black officers hired at the Balch Springs Police Department in the early ’80s The chief then was making an effort to diversify the force “and apparently that didn’t go over well out there.” He felt it particularly when he married a white female officer white officers refused to help black officers on calls they would not send anyone to back us up.” his wife and the two other black officers sued the department for harassment and discrimination a federal judge ruled that the chief had violated their rights by allowing them to be harassed the first of three consecutive black mayors here “I was told during the campaign by this older white gentleman that it would be a cold day in hell before a n----- would be the mayor of Balch Springs,” he said who had been police chief of the Wilmer-Hutchins school district could see the Balch Springs force needed to diversify The department had a reputation in many neighborhoods for being standoffish and heavy-handed you gotta get more minorities so it looks like where we are out here,” he says he told city and police officials then  30 of the town’s 38 police officers are white according to a roster provided by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement They are among the most visible professionals in a city where less than 10 percent of the adults have a bachelor’s degree and 1 in 3 haven’t graduated high school The chief says finding and training new officers is difficult and expensive The city offers recruits a starting salary of $37,500 Haber said during a City Council meeting in March “With the climate in law enforcement nowadays it’s been hard getting candidates to come to us,” he said City Council members have supported their chief in the aftermath of the April 29 shooting in which Officer Roy Oliver responded to a complaint of traffic and possible underage drinking at a party Oliver fired a rifle into a carload of teenagers leaving the party Haber initially said the Chevy Impala that Jordan was riding in had moved toward officers "in an aggressive manner." A day later acknowledging the Impala posed no threat to officers “I stand behind him 100 percent,” said council member Tartisha Hill Diversifying the police force has not been an issue before the council recently pastor of the predominantly black True Believers Baptist Church in Dallas lives in Balch Springs and was on its City Council for several years until 2016 He was among local ministers who joined the chief on May 4 for a National Day of Prayer meeting and the respect for the chief in the room was unanimous Taylor says the city has had its share of race issues He said Haber is trying to diversify the department “It’s not something that’s done overnight,” Taylor said one of the few references to the shooting came from council member Sammy Moon He proposed setting up a committee to find more activities for young people “to help keep them off the streets and safe so nothing like what happened 10 days ago will happen again.” No mention was made of better training for officers, a focus of a wrongful-death lawsuit that Jordan's family has filed against the city The shooting came up again as council members discussed a controversial water rate hike the council member suing her colleagues for discrimination said the hike was particularly necessary in light of the Edwards family’s lawsuit “Either we do the water rate increase or we do the property tax increase,” Adams said the council passed the rate hike in a 4-3 vote Staff writer Ray Leszcynski contributed to this story.