State Rep. Lorraine Birabil
Texas state Rep. Lorraine Birabil, District 100, today (Monday, June 1) announced her plan to file a bill in the next session of the Texas Legislature addressing police violence. Birabil, who faces a runoff against Jasmine Crockett on July 14, called for increased access to internal affairs investigation evidence and a legal requirement for officers who witness excessive use of force to report that information immediately.
Birabil made the announcement a press conference today, following a weekend of sometimes-violent protests in Dallas and around the country in the wake of the murder last week of unarmed black man George Floyd. Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin and three others were fired the day after Floyd’s death, and Chauvin has since been arrested and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
With the support of community leaders and elected officials behind her, Birabil urged the city of Dallas to allow the Office of Community Police Oversight to “operate within their full authority,” noting that “a recent city of Dallas audit of the Dallas Police Department revealed serious gaps in the department’s processes for investigating and addressing misconduct complaints.”
Birabil said she will ask the Internal Affairs Division to grant full and unrestricted access to the director of the Office of Community Police Oversight to the systems that store information in relation to IAD investigations as well as evidence portals that allow a full investigation of civilian complaints.
“People are ignored,” Birabil said. “The first step to creating a system that effectively serves our community is ensuring that no concern goes unheard.”
Birabil said the “See something, Say something” bill, which is the first piece of legislation she plans to file in the 2021 legislative session, would hold law enforcement officers liable if they witness an excessive use of force and fail to file a formal report.
“We’re not asking the police to do anything that we don’t ask our citizens to do,” Birabil said. “If Texas House District 100 includes parts of West Dallas, Oak Cliff, South Dallas, Lakewood, East Dallas and Buckner Terrace as well as a small portion of Mesquite.” Birabil assumed the District 100 seat in January after winning a special election last November to replace former Rep. Eric Johnson, who resigned to run for mayor of Dallas.
Birabil was the top vote-getter in the March Democratic Primary against five other candidates. She faces Jasmine Crockett in the July 14 runoff for the nomination. There is no Republican candidate in that district.