The board of Dallas\u2019 largest police union certified results on Friday for its recent election, formalizing a leadership change that comes as the organization\u2019s current president remains on administrative leave.<\/p>\n
The vote marks a shift for the Dallas Police Association, with roughly 77% of the membership who cast votes backing Sgt. Sean Pease for president. Pease is now set to replace Senior Cpl. Jaime Castro, who was sidelined last month amid a monthslong internal affairs investigation into a fatal crash he was involved in while off-duty.<\/p>\n
Pease, 58, is expected to be sworn in at the association\u2019s January board meeting. He will take over as City Hall faces a number of pressures, including negotiations over the next \u201cmeet and confer\u201d contract that governs pay and working conditions and voter-backed charter requirements that have reshaped the city\u2019s public safety obligations.<\/p>\n
The 12-year officer now serves as the association\u2019s vice president. Beyond priorities like the contract and pension, he said his pitch centered on stronger communication and transparency.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of this role, for me, is being a good liaison between the department and our officers, our officers back,\u201d Pease said in an interview with The Dallas Morning News. \u201cBut we also need to have a role to play with getting information to the public \u2026 when we think something\u2019s going wrong, but also when we think things are going right.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following an earlier career stint in agriculture, Pease\u2019s experience ranges from patrol and chaplaincy to detective work on some of the city\u2019s more complex cases. He is now assigned to patrol in the department\u2019s Northeast Division, which spans northeast and far northeast Dallas, Lake Highlands and Lakewood.<\/p>\n
Before becoming vice president, he represented that division\u2019s officers within the association. He also served as a board member for the Assist the Officer Foundation, a Dallas-based nonprofit supporting first responders and their families.<\/p>\n
Pease said he sees policing as an extension of his ministry, grounded in showing up for people on their worst days. He said the same instinct drew him to serve as a peer-support \u201ccheckpoint\u201d officer as part of the department\u2019s wellness efforts and to pursue leadership roles within the association.<\/p>\n
Pease\u2019s win lands at a turbulent moment for union leadership. Castro, who unsuccessfully ran to retain the top position, was placed on administrative leave last month.<\/p>\n
In March, Castro was involved in an off-duty crash that killed a pedestrian, Atianna Washington, 25, in northwest Dallas. Two other responding officers were also placed on leave after an allegation that they failed to fully investigate the crash.<\/p>\n
The two other responding officers, Evan Muller and Robert Wilcox Jr., were placed on leave and remained there until at least Aug. 15, according to records reviewed by The News. Whether Muller and Wilcox faced disciplinary action and have returned to duty is unclear.<\/p>\n
The vehicle Castro was in had two other occupants. Muller\u2019s report listed Castro as a passenger.<\/p>\n
Asked about Castro, Pease said the association would approach his case as it would any member\u2019s, emphasizing due process and consistency as the inquiry continues.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re held to a higher standard \u2014 we are,\u201d Pease said, \u201cbut that doesn\u2019t mean we give up our constitutional rights.\u201d<\/p>\n
He pointed to a refrain heard often from former Chief Eddie Garc\u00eda when an officer\u2019s use of force was publicly questioned.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Garc\u00eda] was like \u2018You know what, we\u2019re going to look into this, and if we did wrong, we will be held accountable on it,\u2019\u201d Pease said.<\/p>\n
The investigation could result in criminal charges. The rationale for Castro\u2019s being placed on leave was \u201cGrand Jury referral for Class A Misdemeanor,\u201d according to documents obtained through an open-records request by The News.<\/p>\n
Related<\/p>\n
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In conclusion, the recent election of Sgt. Sean Pease as the new president of the Dallas Police Association marks a significant shift in leadership for the organization. With Pease\u2019s experience and priorities, the association is expected to take a new direction in addressing the challenges faced by the department and the city. The investigation into the fatal crash involving Senior Cpl. Jaime Castro is ongoing, and the association will approach the case with due process and consistency.<\/p>\n
Q: Who is the new president of the Dallas Police Association?<\/p>\n
A: Sgt. Sean Pease is the new president of the Dallas Police Association, elected with roughly 77% of the membership who cast votes.<\/p>\n
Q: What are Pease\u2019s priorities as the new president?<\/p>\n
A: Pease\u2019s priorities include stronger communication and transparency, as well as addressing the challenges faced by the department and the city, such as contract negotiations and public safety obligations.<\/p>\n
Q: What is the current status of the investigation into the fatal crash involving Senior Cpl. Jaime Castro?<\/p>\n
A: The investigation is ongoing, and the association will approach the case with due process and consistency. The rationale for Castro\u2019s being placed on leave was \u201cGrand Jury referral for Class A Misdemeanor.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Leadership Change in Dallas Police Union The board of Dallas\u2019 largest police union certified results on Friday for its recent election, formalizing a leadership change that comes as the organization\u2019s current president remains on administrative leave. The vote marks a shift for the Dallas Police Association, with roughly 77% of the membership who cast votes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":19194,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-19192","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/UBLYIOODRBD5BD6UTNCMNJHNFQ.jpg?auth=185760605002b20ef0a4497ab68f759ce9abd14b3b5390075ec96e01f1d5fa9a&quality=80&width=1200&height=630&focal=1378,1067","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19192"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19192"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19192\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19195,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19192\/revisions\/19195"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}