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The resignation of Dallas County’s embattled juvenile department director may finally force the Juvenile Board to reckon with shocking complaints about the treatment of youths in lockup.
A majority of the board appeared asleep at the wheel despite mounting allegations about teens being kept in their cells or in solitary confinement longer than appropriate.
Darryl Beatty resigned as executive director of the juvenile department after state regulators opened a second investigation into the juvenile detention center at the Henry Wade Juvenile Justice Center. State officials told us they went in for a surprise inspection this month following “[r]ecent reports, from various sources, alleging new instances of supervisory neglect.” The final report from a separate neglect investigation the state launched last summer is pending.
The Juvenile Board shouldn’t just wait for the results. The board clearly needs to conduct a broader review into the operations of the Dallas County Juvenile Department.
By law, it is the county’s Juvenile Board and not the Commissioners Court that oversees the juvenile department and its detention facilities. The Commissioners Court provides funding from its budget.
Yet the Juvenile Board so far has betrayed an astounding lack of curiosity about what’s going on in the county’s juvenile justice system.
Last year, the board pushed back against attempts by the Commissioners Court to obtain anonymized “observation sheets” that would show how long youths have been kept in their cells day to day, after a controversial third-party report found the Dallas County juvenile justice system is more punitive than those in other counties. A judge ruled that county commissioners were not entitled to the observation sheets.
Then came a state inquiry into allegations of neglect, soon after a June 2023 investigation by this newspaper highlighted concerns by multiple parents and staff whistleblowers who said children were being kept in their cells for up to 23 hours a day. Some of them also complained about unsanitary conditions in the cells and lack of access to medical care.
At the time, this newspaper reported a revealing exchange among members of the Juvenile Board about the isolation allegations. County Judge Clay Lewis Jenkins and Commissioner Andrew Sommerman — the two members of the Commissioners Court who sit in the Juvenile Board and who’ve requested access to observation sheets — were chastised by family court Judge Andrea Plumlee for using the term “isolation.” Another board member, Juvenile Judge Andrea Martin, said, “We don’t just put kids behind doors when they shouldn’t be.”
The Texas Juvenile Justice Department disagreed. While the agency has yet to issue a final report on its 2023 investigation, it said in September that some children in Dallas County detention were held in isolation for disciplinary reasons for as long as five days, which is more than double the state limit of 48 hours.
The state hasn’t yet said whether teens have routinely been kept in their cells most of the day for reasons other than safety or discipline.
TJJD told the Juvenile Board that there were record-keeping gaps at the Henry Wade facility, with staff at the detention center unable to produce some observation sheets. That alone should have set off alarm bells for board members.
The state approved the juvenile department’s improvement plan, but now the public has questions about what actual improvements took place. An investigation by WFAA-TV last month exposed complaints similar to those illuminated by The Dallas Morning News’ reporting a year ago. Dallas pastors rallied to demand better treatment for the youth in county lockups, though Beatty categorically denied allegations of mistreatment.
Then came the unannounced inspection last week and Beatty’s resignation. Beatty didn’t respond to a text message from us.
Commissioner John Wiley Price, who sat on the Juvenile Board until early 2023 and who defended Beatty from the Commissioners Court dais, said the right thing had happened with the Juvenile Board reporting allegations to state regulators and allowing the state investigations to play out. He noted that Beatty had dealt with high staff vacancy rates but acknowledged concerns with his performance. Price said Beatty had seemed paralyzed in the past six months and unable to move the juvenile department forward.
Juvenile Judge Cheryl Shannon, chair of the Juvenile Board, also rejected our criticism of the body’s handling of concerns about Beatty’s department.
“The media has chosen to present the Board as taking no action regarding the concerns raised about the Dallas County Juvenile Detention Center,” she wrote in an email. “This assertion is absolutely incorrect. Since the inception of concerns raised in early 2023, the majority of the Board agreed that the proper independent investigative authority is the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD).”
She said the board agreed that TJJD has the expertise required to investigate the detention center and that the process has worked “exactly as it is designed to work.”
That explanation rings hollow to us. The Juvenile Board is not powerless to investigate, and the abundance and severity of the complaints should have sparked an internal review. The state law that created the Juvenile Board plainly authorizes it to “make any special studies or investigations it considers necessary to improve the operations” of the juvenile department and county institutions under its jurisdiction.
Managing a juvenile department is a difficult and delicate task. Many minors in lockup are there because they have been accused of violence. Some of them also struggle with mental illness. Juvenile detention centers must balance safety with the need to offer schooling and recreational activities to youths in their custody.
No system run by human beings is perfect. But the difficulty of the job is no excuse to overlook so many red flags. The message from the Juvenile Board and the juvenile department all along has been, in essence, “nothing to see here.”
We await the report from the first state investigation into neglect allegations, which TJJD spokeswoman Barbara Kessler said is under legal review. An executive summary is expected in August.
Kessler said investigators spent months gathering evidence, conducting interviews and reviewing about 18,000 daily observation sheets. They put together a report that’s nearly 100 pages.
Nothing to see here, Juvenile Board?
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After her Dallas meet-and-greet ended abruptly, leaving fans disappointed, Hania Aamir explained in an Instagram story that she left early because an event organiser allegedly verbally abused her and her manager, Maida Azmat.
In a detailed Instagram story, Aamir maintained that she loves and respects her fans, and that the event ending suddenly was unfortunate. She said she was proud of the fact that her fans had built a community of love, trust and support, and therefore offered some transparency regarding the matter.
“Everyone saw videos of me walking to the crowd and taking pictures and everything was fine. When I was going back to my seat I heard one of the organisers verbally abuse my manager. So I walked up to her and asked what had happened and told the man (one of the organisers) that he cannot speak to her like this. She was so distraught that she went backstage. I followed her to make sure she was okay and Fahad [Mustafa] being a gentleman also came to check up on her.”
Backstage, the Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum actors started taking pictures with fans, however, Aamir said the event organiser in question chased after them, allegedly calling them names and telling them to leave the premises.
“[He] called off the security protocols, and verbally assaulted us even more (people had to hold him back). We were rushed out by our promoter Arif Khan to not further escalate anything and we managed a personal means of transport to get back safely to the hotel.”
Aamir emphasised that no one had the right to disrespect another person, regardless of their position. She continued that just because women were in male-dominated fields, it was wrong to assume that someone could get away “with almost anything” without the women taking a stand for themselves.
“Thirdly, we as a fraternity put in a lot of effort to make our fans happy. And such people with their theatrics are mostly trying to paint us black. I don’t know, maybe it does something for their ego. But promoters/ organisers need to step up and make sure such clowns don’t ruin the events and the experience for the fans and the artists.”
The Mere Humsafar actor also called on media outlets to show responsibility with their journalism and stop levelling allegations against artists without facts.
“Last but not the least, I would like to apologise to every single one of you who came. And I dearly love every single one of you. I am sorry things had to end this way. Just have to get through with the bad days I guess.”
Soon after Aamir’s statement, she was flooded with support from the entertainment fraternity, with many decrying the disrespect she faced.
Fellow actor Yashma Gill reshared Aamir’s story and said, “Like always, immense respect for Hania Aamir and Maida Azmat for handling the situation not only professionally but also with bravery.”
Gill added that there was no place for disrespect in the entertainment or other industries. “Let’s call him out so no one ever has to go through the same because of him or people like him again.”
Actor Maya Ali said, “Disrespect is unacceptable at any cost or under any circumstances. I am so proud of you for handling this situation with such grace. It’s truly disappointing that some individuals failed to show respect to our Pakistani stars and their teams.”
Actor and internet personality Umer Khan, popularly known as Ukhano, shared pictures of him with both Aamir and Azmat, and said, “No one should have the right to disrespect our stars”.
Khan added that Aamir always devoted herself to her craft and fans, which is why she is “Asia’s most influential artist”, and that Azmat had been his mentor since he started working and inspired him with her professionalism.
“If some third-class promoter can’t show respect and love to our stars then everyone should walk out and boycott such promoters. We stand with you.”
Actor and musician Azaan Sami Khan said, “It’s unfortunate to see the artist being blamed without understanding the complete context.”
Actor Namreen Khan echoed others’ sentiments and wrote, “No one has [the] right to disrespect artists. Hania Aamir is a gem of a person! Her love and respect for fans and people is no secret.”
Radio personality Anoushey Ashraf also said that there was no room disrespect and abuse for anyone.
“Artists are our pride and assets. Am sorry you had to experience this. At the end of the day, people show their own upbringing and mindset when they decide to disrespect a woman (and many a times one from media).”
Filmmaker Nabeel Qureshi said, “This has always been the case with the majority of promoters. In the end, it’s the artists and fans who have to suffer, while the promoters still manage to benefit the most.”
Actor Hira Khan wrote, “No, you can’t put everything on the artist because it’s easier for you to do so!”
Fashion stylist Aarinda Noor, who dressed Aamir for the event, said, “No one has the right to disrespect anyone! It’s very easy to escalate negativity and extremely difficult to understand the responsibility.”
Aamir’s Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum co-star Fahad Mustafa has not commented on the situation yet.
The Dallas Cowboys are undefeated this season in games played where they were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Whether or not that continues to hold true over the final two weeks of the regular season will be of extreme fascination.
Up next for the Cowboys is their final road trip of the year, a venture to face a division rival in the Philadelphia Eagles. It was the Eagles’ loss last week to the Washington Commanders that served as the final straw that eliminated Dallas from the playoffs, and as a result, Philly all but took themselves out of contention for the top seed in the NFC.
Still though, a win would give the Eagles the NFC East title, their first since 2023. Whenever the division is secured it will mark the 20th consecutive year that the NFC East has seen its reigning champion fail to repeat so Philly will in all likelihood be the team carrying that burden next year.
Cooper Rush, CeeDee Lamb, Rico Dowdle and co. will have their hands full on offense while Micah Parsons, Marist Liufau and DaRon Bland look to help Dallas continue their form on defense. Even with the season being effectively lost before it was official we have seen the Cowboys playing hard and it stands to reason that this will continue in the City of Brotherly Love.
DALLAS – Christmas morning started off with fog and a bit of drizzle, but after the morning hours we should be dry.
Skies will be gray pretty much all day. Though you may see some sun peeking here and there.
High temperatures will end up in the high 50s today.
Storm chances return on Thursday morning.
Around 9 or 10 o’clock, rain is expected to begin to the west and move east throughout the day.
There is a high wind and hail risk with the storms, but that is mostly to the south and east of the Metroplex.
We could see some flight delays for people looking to travel on Thursday.
There could be a few storms on Friday.
We expect some warm weather over the weekend.
Temperatures will be back in the 70s on Sunday.
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