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City council considers dropping experience requirement to become a Dallas police officer

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City council considers dropping experience requirement to become a Dallas police officer


The city of Dallas is considering reducing the qualifications to become a Dallas police officer. 

But some Dallas City Council members are pushing back on the idea. 

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Right now, to become a Dallas police officer, one needs either college credit, experience in the U.S. Armed Forces or a TCOLE peace officer license. 

Under the new proposal, there would be no experience required. 

For eight years, the Dallas Police Department has struggled to recruit and retain police officers.

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The latest strategy recommended by the city’s civil service board is to allow high school graduates or those with GED to apply with no college credit or experience necessary. 

“We are competing for limited talent with limited interest in a sworn position,” said Jarred Davis with the city’s civil service department. “It’s like sales; the more you put in the funnel, the better results you will have hiring quality candidates on the back end.”

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Right now, there are several paths to becoming a Dallas police officer:

  • one can transfer from another department
  • must have three years of service in the armed forces
  • have 45-60 college credit hours, depending on age, with a 2.0 GPA

“To me, it is not what you are studying, but are you maturing? Having other experiences? You have to show up, earn your grades, work with the instructor,” said Councilwoman Gay Donnell-Willis.

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While applicants can transfer from another department with no college credits, Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn said their experience with that department would be their qualification. 

“I’m just going to say it. I don’t like this proposal at all,” she said. “I don’t want us to lower our standards for police officers.

While Austin and San Antonio only require a high school diploma or GED, cities like Arlington and Plano require a bachelor’s degree. 

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“This is what the civil service board has supported, and we think this would be a step in the right direction for expanding our reach for recruitment,” Davis said.

Mendelsohn disagreed.

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“We are not talking about any kind of job here that is anyone off the street doing a file clerk job,” she said. “We are giving someone a gun and the ability to kill other people. I won’t support lowering it.”

The public safety committee said there were still too many questions to move the proposal forward to the full city council for a vote. There will be another briefing likely in December. 



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Dallas, TX

2026 Dallas Cowboys schedule officially announced

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2026 Dallas Cowboys schedule officially announced


Behold the 2026 Dallas Cowboys schedule.

We knew coming into Thursday that the Cowboys would be on the road to take on the New York Giants in the season opener on Sunday Night Football, that Dallas is “hosting” the Baltimore Ravens in Brazil in Week 3, and that the Philadelphia Eagles would be in town for Thanksgiving Day. Now we know it all.

Among the first things that jump to mind is that bye week is late. Dallas isn’t on bye until Week 14, the Sunday of that week is December 13th for full perspective.

The Cowboys also only play twice in their own building, thanks to the Brazil game, before November. Sometimes those weird quirks show up in schedules and this is certainly one of them.

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It is interesting to see that the NFL gave Dallas the longest amount of rest possible after their Thanksgiving tilt. It hasn’t been uncommon for the league to have the Cowboys play on consecutive Thursdays, but perhaps that is a thing of the past.



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Dallas Approves $180,500 for New Botham Jean Boulevard Street Signs

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Dallas Approves 0,500 for New Botham Jean Boulevard Street Signs


A portion of South Lamar Street was officially renamed Botham Jean Boulevard in 2021.

Flashit Photography

On Wednesday, the Dallas City Council approved funding that will replace highway exit signs and road signs marking Lamar Street with new signage honoring Botham Jean, the 26-year-old Dallas accountant who was fatally shot in his own apartment by an off-duty Dallas police officer in 2018. 

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The $180,500 in funding for 13 signs to be installed by the Texas Department of Transportation is the final step in the street renaming that was unanimously approved by the council in 2021. The new signs will be placed at exits along Interstate 45, State Highway 310 and U.S. Highway 175. 

Already, Botham Jean Boulevard signs run along the road in the Cedars, where Jean lived before he was killed. 

“This street on which he chose to live and the street on which he died can serve as a lasting memory of the upstanding resident who loved Dallas so much,” his mother, Allison Jean, told the council in 2021.  

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Jean was shot by Amber Guyger, a Dallas police officer, after she entered his apartment believing it was her own. A Dallas jury found Guyger guilty of murder in 2019 and sentenced her to 10 years in prison. She has also been ordered to pay the Jean family nearly $100 million in a civil trial, which accused her of using excessive force. 

The Jean family is seeking restitution from the city of Dallas because they argue that Dallas, as Guyger’s former employer, had a duty to defend Guyger and pay out claims brought against her. The Jean family filed suit against the city in April of this year.

On Wednesday, city council member Adam Bazaldua stated that the continued remembrance of Jean’s name is a reminder that “no one is above the law.” 

“This has never simply been about changing street signs; it has always been about commemorating a life that was taken too soon,” said Bazaldua. “When driving down Botham Jean Boulevard, we are reminded of the thousands of lives lost across the country each year to senseless gun violence.” 

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Bazaldua said that once city leaders were made aware that some signs from the initial 2021 street name change had not materialized, the horseshoe took steps to correct the oversight “somewhat promptly.” But he acknowledged that Wednesday’s funding came on the heels of community advocacy urging the project’s completion. 

Community leader Yafeuh Balogun said his organization, Community Movement Builders, began asking the city for the updated signs in September 2025. Addressing the council ahead of Wednesday’s vote, Balogun encouraged the horseshoe to vote in favor of the funds because it “would make no sense” to not follow through with the street renaming approved years ago. 

 “I think this is very powerful simply because driving here today, I still saw the Lamar Street Signs,” Balogun said. “I remember how powerful it was back in 2021 when the city council voted to rename Lamar Street to Botham Jean. I’d like to keep that legacy going.” 



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World Cup volunteers receive uniforms, new tickets released

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World Cup volunteers receive uniforms, new tickets released


We’re less than a month out from the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and North Texans volunteering in the event have received their uniforms. FOX 4’s Peyton Yager has more on that and the new hospitality tickets released today.



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