Dallas

New Dallas police chief says immigration comment was taken out of context

The comment was made in an interview with Fox News earlier this week.

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Over chorizo and menudo, Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux met face-to-face with members of LULAC.

Just over a month into the job, the civil rights organization invited Comeaux to its monthly meeting, in part, looking for clarity on his immigration policy.

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“I want to talk about the big elephant in the room,” Comeaux told the crowd.

Comeaux was addressing a comment made in an interview this week to Fox News, which resulted in a headline by The Daily Mail that tied his comment to migrants.

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Comeaux said he was taken out of context. He began the meeting by reading the transcript, which he said he’d already emailed to several community leaders.

“’Do you have a message for anyone that is trying to, you know, bring gangs and bring violence and break laws in your city?’ That was the question. And this was my answer, ‘Yes. Not in this city. I’ve been a crime fighter. I’ve been a protector for my entire career, ever since [I was] 20 years old. Pick another city. Don’t come to Dallas. You’re not welcome.’ That was my statement. That’s what I said,” he said.

While protesters gathered outside the restaurant, LULAC President Rene Martinez expressed confidence in Comeaux and the department’s role in immigration related cases.

“As far as the role of the Dallas Police Department, that has not changed. They're going to be going after felons, going after criminals, going after people that are out in the streets, regardless of who they look like, where they're from, what color, what ethnicity, what race,” said Martinez.

This week, Dallas’s Community Police Oversight Board met to approve a letter to Comeaux asking for clarification on his immigration strategy.

Today, he said, the department’s policy hasn’t changed.

“The Dallas Police Department's always going to be compliant with the law, with the state and federal laws. We will always be compliant, but we're going to make sure everyone's safe and we're going to take care of everyone that lives in Dallas the same way,” he said.

The oversight board meets again on Tuesday.

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