Ron Pinkston, Dallas police union president, blames slow 911 response times on ‘fed up’ cops

The president of the Dallas Police Association is blaming longer 911 response times on officers being mentally beaten down.

“The bottom line is response times are up, violent crime is up, and officers are fed up,” Ron Pinkston told a local CBS affiliate.

Many of the 3,000 officers Mr. Pinkston represents are moving slower, he says, because of concerns over safety and fears about new department policies. For instance, officers are too often being reprimanded for the way they drive during high-speed chases or for the decisions they make concerning deadly force, he told CBS.

“The motivation is a little lacking,” he told the station. “I think it’s just the fear of doing the right thing and that they are going to get disciplined for doing that.

“When they see criminal suspects that look suspicious, they are not going to engage those suspects from fear that nobody’s going to support them,” he said.

Dallas Police Chief David Brown told city council members Monday that new training requirements are responsible for the slower response to top-priority calls — now at eight minutes and 13 seconds, the highest in at least three years, CBS reported.

Mr. Pinkston said he believes the best solution is for the police department to “get a different management style or get a different manager.”