DART Officer Jesse Retana
Jesse Retana, one of the DART officers injured July 7 when a gunman ambushed officers after a Black Lives Matter rally in downtown Dallas, is being operated on today, (Friday, July 29) to remove bullet fragments from his left tricep.
But while injured Dallas Police Department officers are receiving full pay as they recover, DART officers are not covered by Civil Service. So injured DART officers are being paid through Workman’s Compensation — and that means a 30 percent reduction in their pay.
Cheryl Orr, DART vice president of human capital, said DART is aware of the situation and is addressing the issue.
Retana’s husband, Andrew Moss, started a GoFundMe page to help them through this difficult period. And while this puts a severe financial strain on this couple, Moss notes that other injured DART officers have children. So this page is to help them as well.
“When I found out about this attack, I was unbelievably scared but calm – I have worked with Jesse before so I knew he would do his best to make it home. But I knew he would put himself between the innocent and this monster to do his best to save as many others as possible — that’s just who he is,” Moss wrote.
So make a donation, if you can. To contact DART and let the agency know you support full pay for officers recovering from injuries sustained while protecting the public, you may email James Duff.
Retana is expected to make a full recovery, but that recovery won’t be quick.
