DyNell Lane had been seeking answers for months when he stepped up to a podium in February to address a group of civilian police watchdogs.
“I really just want to know the status of what’s going on,” the disabled veteran told Dallas’ Community Police Oversight Board, made up of 15 residents appointed by the City Council.
Nine months ago, Lane filed a complaint over an incident in which four police officers laughed after he urinated on himself when he wasn’t allowed to use the restroom at a Deep Ellum pizza joint. The incident was caught on body camera video and the case went viral after the oversight office shared the footage at one of its monthly meetings.
He’s still waiting for the Dallas Police Department to address the officers’ behavior.
The city’s handling of Lane’s case has led to questions from the oversight board, activists and experts about Dallas’ commitment to independent police oversight, according to an investigation by The Dallas Morning News. At issue is how the city’s oversight office — and the civilian board that guides it — lost its authority to investigate complaints when its only investigator was shifted out of his role and lost its control over what grievances could be reviewed when the power was diminished by city officials, multiple board members told The News.
The oversight office, which has four full-time employees, works with the civilian board to review residents’ complaints…
