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Saturday, April 20, 2024
The Mayor’s Alliance for Unity and Culture hosted a Virtual Town Hall on July 29 with the Southlake Police Department to ask and answer questions Southlake residents have about the Police Department.
Watch the event recording and follow-up video here.
Mayor Laura Hill was joined by Alliance members and Southlake residents Anthony Shelton and Elisa O’Callaghan to host and moderate the event. Acting Police Chief Ashleigh Casey answered questions along with Captain Randy Thomas, SRO Sergeant John Stokes, SRO Corporal Blas Hernandez, SRO Frank Rogers (Carroll Sr. High School), SRO Cory Rattan (Carroll High School), SRO Brett Roberson (Carroll Middle School), and SRO Anthony Pate (Dawson Middle School).
“The Alliance filled a complete calendar of incredible events for our citizens to experience during 2020 and had to be canceled due to COVID-19,” Hill said during the event. “They were quick to pivot this summer, especially after the murder of George Floyd. We came together and made the decision to give our citizens an opportunity to speak to us and ask us their questions.”
During the event, the Southlake Police Department answered questions that were submitted ahead of time by Southlake residents. Casey and her team answered questions relating to police policies, training and education, the School Resource Officer program, equipment and other policing matters. Though questions were not taken during the event, all questions asked were tracked and after the event Casey answered those questions.
Look for more virtual events from the Mayor’s Alliance coming this fall. Have an idea for a Mayor’s Alliance event? Submit it here.
Last school year, the City committed to working with school and law enforcement professionals to form a School Safety Task Force to find new ways to strengthen and enhance school safety in Southlake schools. With several months and multiple recommendations under its belt, the start of a new school year also means schools in Southlake will be starting with additional safety resources.
Each school is assigned a Southlake Police Officer as a School Resource Officer (SRO), this year two additional SROs will be assigned to the high schools.
“With the creation of the School Safety Task Force we made a promise to do more to protect our children. We started to deliver on that last year, and will continue to do so this year,” said Southlake Police Chief James Brandon. “We’ve made some visible changes, and we’ve made some people won’t see, by design. Recent events have created more questions about school safety; the Southlake Police Department SROs are doing everything they can to achieve the highest standards in safety and security in every Carroll ISD school. Parents can rest assured knowing we’re here to do our best to keep their children safe.”
In addition to providing a Southlake Police Officer to each school, each SRO is a trained classroom instructor on topics such as stranger danger, dating safety, internet safety, drug, alcohol and tobacco awareness.
“All of our SROs believe that the safety of the students is paramount when responding to any situation,” notes Chief Brandon. “Working alongside parents is a key factor in that and is a top priority for SROs to help keep students safe.”
Southlake SROs make investments every day to further their mission to keep students safe and focused on learning. The success of the program can be seen in the day-to-day interactions with CISD students.
“All of these efforts resulted in zero student citations,” said Chief Brandon. “I look forward to continuing to see these types of outcomes in Southlake schools in the year to come. Our goal is to make sure students learn and have fun without worrying too much about their safety.”
The Southlake SRO program has been in place since 2005. By the start of the 2013-2014 school year, specially-trained officers were in place at each CISD elementary school and intermediate school in addition to the officers at the middle schools and high schools.
Much of the $1,600,000 funding for these officers is from the Crime Control and Prevention District portion of the City’s sales tax. In 2015, voters re-authorized the district for 20 years helping to ensure the future of SRO program and other safety initiatives.
You can learn more about Southlake School Safety on the City of Southlake website.
On March 29, the Southlake Police Department joined Carroll ISD officials and participated in the SPARK Community Panel on School Safety. More than 100 community members met at The Marq Southlake to be a part of the discussion.
Police Chief James Brandon and Superintendent Dr. David Faltys, along with School Resource Officers, school counselors, principals and other school officials were on hand to answer questions.
Chief Brandon called the night a great exchange of information. “It was an honor to be a part of the panel. I was especially appreciative of the thoughtful and engaging questions provided by the parents in attendance. While recent events in Parkland, Florida have created more questions about school safety, the Southlake Police Department School Resource Officers (SROs) are a dedicated to doing everything they can to achieve the highest standards of safety and security in every Carroll ISD school,” said Chief Brandon.
The night offered the opportunity for the Police Department to learn more about what concerns parents and what the department can do to support their efforts. The Southlake SRO program has been in place since 2005, and in 2013 expanded to include all Carroll ISD schools.
“These are dedicated police officers who make it a point every day to teach, mentor and protect. I believe we have a great team in place and parents should always feel free to reach out to me or their campus SRO if questions arise,” said Chief Brandon.
For more information on our the Southlake Police SRO program please go to CityofSouthlake.com/SouthlakeSROs
As you know, the school year is over and summer has begun. Let’s take a moment to recognize our wonderful School Resource Officers for providing your children with a safe and enriched school year.
The SROs work in partnership with Carroll Independent School District (CISD) to teach students valuable lessons on various topics that they can carry through life.
Here are some highlighted lessons from the 2016-2017 school year:
These are just a few of the many kinds of educational classes provided by the SROs. They also serve as positive role models through coaching and mentoring to help students make good choices and to learn about the consequences of negative behavior.
The Southlake Police Department is asking for your help in identifying one of the suspects involved in the recent home invasion on May 2, 2017. Police have developed the following sketch:
Once again, this suspect is a white male in his early 30’s, around 6’0″ tall and heavyset. At the time of the offense, he was wearing a baseball cap with a “Cub Scout Leader” emblem in black and neon green embroidery, thin brown wireframe glasses, a long-sleeved button-down dress shirt, dark pants, and dark dress shoes.
If you have any information about this case or the suspects involved, please contact Southlake Police Detective J. Ellis at (817) 748-8123.
Over the last six months, 13 Public Safety employees have participated in our third DPS Leadership Academy. The Leadership Academy was developed as a way to bring members of both the Fire and Police departments together to strengthen their skills as leaders. Its purpose is to develop quality leadership and management, manage our organizational philosophy, culture and values, and build organizational capacity. The program included both internal and external experts who spoke on the topics of Pride and Ownership, Critical Thinking & Decision Making, Leadership & Communication Styles, Generational Differences, Employee Relations, and Southlake’s Strategy. This program was originally made possible by a very generous anonymous donation facilitated through SDCA.
On April 26, 2017 the City celebrated the graduation of the program participants listed below. At the graduation ceremony, each participant spoke about what they learned from the program and how they will use it to become a better leader. The program was very successful and we look forward to offering it again in the future.
Robert Briggs, Police Corporal
Officer Joshua Ellis, Police Officer
Officer Delaney Green, Police Officer
Cpl Preston Logan, Police Corporal
Cpl Christopher Melton, Police Corporal
Officer Thomas Roberson, Police Officer
Officer Weston Wood, Police Officer
Joshua Bors, Fire Engineer
Ricky Davis, Fire Lieutenant
Jimmy Elliott, Fire Engineer
Daniel Massengale, Fire Engineer
Robert McCallion, Fire Engineer
Brent Nobile, Fire Engineer
Congratulations to all the participants!
Southlake Police would like to make residents and business owners aware of two scams that are currently making the rounds in Southlake and possibly other surrounding cities.
According to several residents who have called about the scam, one involved a caller who identifies himself as Lieutenant Collins with the Southlake Police Department. The fake lieutenant tells the person that they failed to report for jury duty and that a warrant has been issued for their arrest. He says that the person can get the jury date reset but that they have to post a cash bond in the mean time.
The other scam is from persons identifying themselves as Treasury Agents stating that a warrant has been issued for the citizen for not paying taxes and that someone will come by and arrest them if they don’t take care of the matter immediately.
“These scams have been around for a while,” said Assistant Police Chief Ashleigh Douglas. “Southlake Police Officers will never request or collect money over the phone for any reason. The best plan if you receive a call like this is to hang up on them as soon as possible and provide police with the scammer’s phone number.”
If you have been contacted and the call seems suspicious, call Southlake Police non-emergency line at (817) 743-4524.
This Memorial Day weekend, the Southlake Police Department will take part in the Tarrant County “No Refusal Weekend” from Friday May 23 to Monday May 26. This means if you are arrested for DWI and refuse to give a specimen of your breath or blood the officer will apply for a Search Warrant to have a specimen of blood taken from you.
Did you know—that someone is hurt or killed in a crash involving alcohol almost every 20 minutes? The Southlake Departments of Public Safety are urging everyone to be safe this Memorial Day Weekend. Please do not drive or operate a boat if you have had too much alcohol. Individuals arrested for DWI face serious consequences including jail time and fines but more importantly, they risk taking a life or causing serious harm to themselves and others.
In Texas, a person is legally intoxicated and may be arrested and charged with DWI with a .08 BAC (blood or breath alcohol concentration). However, a person is also intoxicated if impaired due to alcohol or other drugs regardless of BAC. Additionally, whether you’re the driver or the passenger, you can be fined up to $500 for having an open alcohol container in a vehicle.
The penalties increase if you are arrested for DWI with a child passenger or cause bodily injury or death to another, and face charges for child endangerment, Intoxication Assault, or Intoxication Manslaughter. These offenses in conjunction with DWI are punishable by significant fines, and lengthy prison sentences.
The fines and punishments increase dramatically following a first offense. Don’t risk getting a DWI conviction. Play it safe by remembering a few simple tips.
Southlake Police Chief Stephen Mylett says, “The message is simple. Don’t drink and drive, period! Don’t let one bad decision change your life forever. The consequences can last a lifetime.”
Southlake Police Officers will continue to work to keep the City streets and highways safe this Memorial Day weekend. For more information http://www.txdot.gov/safety/tips/intoxication.htm