Dallas Sen. Royce West hopes new training for Texas drivers, police and high school students will ease tensions
AUSTIN — A peaceful protest in downtown Dallas over the police shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile turned violent in July 2016, when a gunman took the lives of five police officers.
At the time, Dallas Sen. Royce West called Dallas “ground zero for change” and said he wanted to address the tension between law enforcement and the minority community. The result is a law the Legislature passed last year to
require that Texas students, drivers and law enforcement be taught how to behave during traffic stops.
He said the bill he wrote focused on traffic stops because Castile was fatally shot by a Minnesota officer while he was reaching for his driver’s license. In July 2015, Sandra Bland was arrested after a traffic stop in Texas and later found dead in her jail cell.
“Sometimes people get pulled over and fumble around in their car trying to get their driver’s license, and if you’re a police officer, you may take that the wrong way,” West said. “We want to make sure drivers understand what they should and shouldn't do when they’re stopped and understand their rights.”
But critics of the law say that during traffic stops, the onus should be on police.
“While in theory this legislation sounds good, it does some victim-blaming,” said Edwin Robinson, director of Dallas-based Faith in Texas, which advocates for racial justice. “It seems like a way of deflecting the conversation from what it really needs to be — police accountability.”
The law also wouldn’t prevent a shooting like that of 26-year-old
Botham Jean, a black man who was killed in his apartment last week by Dallas police officer Amber Guyger.
What is the Community Safety Education Act?
The law requiring the training program went into effect Sept. 1. The State Board of Education and the Commission on Law Enforcement created the program with help from the Department of Public Safety, Department of Licensing and Regulation and the Austin, Houston and Dallas police departments.
In June, DPS incorporated information about expected behavior during traffic stops into
driver’s license education and testing. West said anyone in Texas who wants a license will have to read the content, and at least one question on the exam will cover traffic stops.
The agency also added instructions to file complaints or concerns.
“You need to comply in the streets, but you can complain in the courtroom,” West said. “It’s important for people to know their rights.”
Requirements for high school students
Beginning with current freshmen, high school students are required to undergo the training and have it marked on their transcript before they’re allowed to graduate.
“A video will be the primary source for the instruction,” said Monica Martinez, curriculum spokeswoman for the Texas Education Agency. “The video will walk through two different traffic stops — one showing common mistakes made and the other showing the more ideal traffic stop.”
The
16-minute video shows Houston officers answering common questions — where to put your hands, how to pull over, what to do with your ticket and how to file a complaint.
School districts can determine the class in which they’ll show the video, Martinez said.
A spokeswoman for Dallas ISD said the district plans to teach the program in freshman government classes. Fort Worth ISD is planning to show the video in freshman social studies courses but exploring other options.
The TEA created a
teachers’ guide and suggested they test students before and after watching the video to assess their understanding of the material. It lists questions teachers can ask, such as how students feel when they’re stopped and how they think the officer feels.
Requirements for law enforcement
Police officers will be shown the same video and be given a refresher on traffic-stop material they learned in the academy.
“The main thing we want to ensure is that officers are reminded that maybe some people have had different interactions with law enforcement and also to remind drivers that police are people, too, and have a very difficult job,” said Gretchen Grigsby, director of government relations for the Texas law enforcement commission. “The point of the bill is to get back to human interaction.”
Grigsby said about 350 police officers have gone through the training program since it started this month. According to the TCOLE website, there are 78,221 peace officers in Texas.
“This education for drivers and students, paired with police getting the same education, will help everyone understand what the expectations are,” West said.
Will this law be effective?
West said the training program does not address racial profiling because the purpose of the bill is more universal, but he pointed to other legislation that does.
Senate Bill 158, which he wrote in 2015, outfits more officers with body cameras and includes a provision allowing citizens to file open records requests to receive the footage.
The
Sandra Bland Act, which passed last year, addresses the mental health needs of people who are detained and includes requirements for data on racial profiling.
Robinson, the racial justice advocate, said it’s good that lawmakers are making an effort, but he’s not sure the traffic stop education will be effective.
“This is an attempt to do something,” he said. “Unfortunately, just doing something isn’t enough when people are dying, being shot and killed.”
Law enforcement officials are more optimistic about the the program and say it will help community relations.
“Any instruction to the public on what is expected and why police do what they have to do is positive,” said Michael Mata, president of the Dallas Police Association.
But he said officers could do a better job of communicating to prevent misunderstandings.
“Officers are human beings, and humans don’t always have the gift of gab,” Mata said. “Maybe some officers don't have the talent other officers may have of explaining and communicating. Any training from the department [for officers] is positive.”
