2016 Annual Report 2016 Annual Report | Page 18

2nd Annual Let’s Talk Forum In August, the Dallas Police Department hosted the 2nd Annual Let’s Talk, a forum for youth ages 10 to 15 years old. The goal of the event was to encourage open dialogue between youth and police department representatives. The event brought in several hundred adolescents and a host of volunteers from across the metroplex. Let’s Talk afforded young people the opportunity to speak freely with officers and other department personnel to gain information on how to interact with law enforcement. It was a high energy event with speeches and cameos from various celebrities. Radio personality Rock T was the event’s emcee, and former Dallas Cowboys Emmitt Smith and Daryl Johnston addressed the audience along with former NBA player, Stephen Howard. Olympic track athlete Darvis “Doc” Patton also graced the stage and offered encouraging words to the young spectators. In addition, there was an appearance by actress Paola Andino from the Nickelodeon television show “Every Witch Way.” The day also included several raffle giveaways and dance breaks. The giveaways consisted of several gift cards, passes to the Dallas Arboretum and Studio Movie Grill, along with XBOX Ones, Samsung Galaxy tablets and so much more. Officers also surprised the crowd with a spontaneous Running Man dance on stage led by the Dallas Mavericks dancers. 17 Southeast Officers on Foot Patrol Brighten the Day Dallas Police Officers Hall and Ransom decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather by stepping out of their squad car and walking within their beat in Southeast Dallas. During their patrol, the officers were approached by a community member who sent the following email to Southeast Patrol Deputy Chief Stokes about the encounter: “I was sitting at my desk and I looked out the window because I saw two police officers walking down our driveway through the property…I thought to myself, they must be looking for someone…As they got closer, I could see them smiling…I had to go outside to see why… The response I got from your two police officers, Hall and Ransom, was, “It is such a nice day outside today, that we thought we would just walk around everywhere today”…WOW.. Needless to say, it made me smile even brighter than what I was…How awesome is that…” Thank you Officers Hall and Ransom for working hard and making our citizens smile! 18