Avi S.

Adelman

TO

Dallas Police Department

Open Records Division

TO

Dallas City Hall

Public Information Office

Date

May 23, 2016

In accordance with the Texas Public Information Act, I make the following requests for information.
This request is made under the Texas Open Records Act, chapter 552 of the Government Code (formerly
V.T.C.S. article 6252) as well as Article I, Sec. 8 of the Texas Constitution, the First Amendment to the
United States Constitution, the common law of the State of Texas and any statue providing for public
access to government information:
Background information
On April 12, 2016, the Dallas Police Department (DPD) announced that First Baptist Church of
Dallas (FBC) announced a collaboration between FBC and DPD (see attached Dallas Morning
News article, April 12, 2016).
Per the article:
Dallas police Chief David Brown, former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert (center) and Robert
Jeffress, senior pastor of First Baptist Dallas, announced a collaboration between the
downtown church and the Dallas Police Department.
Two weeks after speaking out in support of embattled Dallas police Chief David Brown,
the senior pastor of First Baptist Dallas said his church has partnered with the police
department to offer special benefits to officers.
The church will host a special Back the Blue service Sunday. But the Rev. Robert
Jeffress said at a news conference Tuesday that his churchs support isnt a one-time
event. The congregation will fund scholarships for children of Dallas police officers to
attend camps, host a weekly Sunday School service for officers and offer free
counseling to Dallas officers and their families.

Crime Blog
Dallas Morning News April 11, 2016
First Baptist Dallas to offer counseling,
services to support Dallas police officers

Dallas police Chief David Brown, former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert (center) and Robert
Jeffress, senior pastor of First Baptist Dallas, announced a collaboration between the downtown
church and the Dallas Police Department.
Two weeks after speaking out in support of embattled Dallas police Chief David Brown, the
senior pastor of First Baptist Dallas said his church has partnered with the police department to
offer special benefits to officers.
The church will host a special Back the Blue service Sunday. But the Rev. Robert Jeffress said
at a news conference Tuesday that his churchs support isnt a one-time event. The congregation
will fund scholarships for children of Dallas police officers to attend camps, host a weekly
Sunday School service for officers and offer free counseling to Dallas officers and their families.
This is not just a one day photo-op, Jeffress said. This Sunday signals the beginning of an
ongoing relationship with the Dallas Police Department. We want to be there as a church to
support them and meet their needs.
Part of that support will also include creating a fund for Brown to take his officers and their
families out to show thanks. Brown recently came under fire after presenting a controversial plan
to move hundreds of officers to night shifts and onto task forces to battle a spike in violent crime,
including a nearly 80 percent jump in murders.
All four Dallas police officer groups criticized the chiefs leadership, and two called for someone
new to lead the department.
But Brown has largely retained the support of many council members, several community
leaders and Mayor Mike Rawlings, who is scheduled to appear at Sundays event. Former Mayor
Tom Leppert echoed that sentiment Tuesday. Brown was promoted to chief while Leppert served
as mayor in 2010.

We have a chief that understands community policing, Leppert said, and importantly is from
the community, grew up in Oak Cliff, understands the challenges, the issues, not just law
enforcement, but the challenges here in this city.
Great timing
Brown, who is a member of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, expressed his gratitude for the support
and said the partnership with First Baptist Dallas is great timing.
Our officers really do need support from citizens in order to do their job in the correct way,
Brown said. Its a thankless job, and many times what our officers hear are negative things that
are said about their job.
Brown has asked people to thank Dallas cops at several public events in recent weeks. He said
appreciation for his troops is especially needed as the department tries to stop the increases in
violent crime after more than a decade of declines.
Our officers have been challenged this year to continue the decline in crime, and we are up for
the challenge, he said.
Our officers, they dont complain. Its such a noble profession. Putting our lives at risk for
others is just part of what we signed up for, but we do need a pat on the back. We do need to hear
from citizens that they appreciate the things that our officers do.
Jeffress said he hopes that what his 12,000-member church is doing encourages other churches
across the region and country to do the same.
In a day when so many law enforcement officials around the country are suffering
condemnation by others, we think that as Christians we ought to be commending law
enforcement officials for their sacrificial service on our behalf, Jeffress said.
Leppert and Jeffress will present Brown with an award at Sundays service, and Rawlings will
lead a prayer.
This is above politics. This is apolitical. This is something Republicans, Democrats,
independents, everyone who loves their communities ought to be able to get behind, Jeffress
said.
Twitter: @ttsiaperas
If you go: Sundays service is set to begin at 10:50 a.m. at First Baptist Dallas, 1707 San Jacinto
St.

Requested Documents
Any and all contracts, memoranda or documents being held by the Dallas Police Department or
any City of Dallas official (including but not limited to, City Manager, Assistant City Manager,
the Mayor), which describes

The type of counseling services to be provided by FBC, including medical codes and
descriptions
The fees or expenses to be charged to the department, or an outline of proposed expenses
to be donated by FBC
The professional references and resumes of the FBC counseling staff, including any and
all associations, professional certifications and / or state licenses in counseling matters
The DPDs internal process for referring officers to FBC
The DPDs internal process for disciplining officers who refuse to accept FBC counseling
for any reason, including religion, sexual preferences or other personal criteria and
objections
The FBC process for reporting counseling sessions with DPD officers, and their
outcomes, to appropriate DPD command staff
The DPD and FBD process for guaranteeing the confidentiality of all counseling sessions
and meetings under the HIPAA
o Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, a US law designed to
provide privacy standards to protect patients' medical records and other health
information provided to health plans, doctors, hospitals and other health care
providers.
Any and all emails, letters, text messages or other correspondence between DPD and
FBC staff in regards to this program, from the first proposal up to the final announcement
An outline detailing how many officers were
o Referred to FBC for counseling and accepted
o Referred to FBC for counseling and refused to participate (and why)

I request that I be sent copies of the following documents or, if there are a large number, be permitted to
inspect the following documents and receive one copy of the ones I would like.
If you have any questions about the nature or scope of this request, please call me at the phone number
listed above. Should you determine that all or some portion of the information requested is excepted
from required disclosure, I request that you provide me with the portions of the requested information
that are public and reasonably segrable from that which you believe is excepted. If any records are in
active use or in storage, please certify this fact in writing and set a date and hour within a reasonable
time when the records will be available, as required by section 552.221 of the Act.
If you determine that all or some portion of the information requested is excepted from required public
disclosure under a particular exception, I request that you advise me as to which exceptions you believe

apply. If you rely on previous determination, please advise me of the applicable court decision or
Attorney General's opinion. If there is no such determination, please advise me of the request for such an
opinion, as required under section 552.301 of the Act, and a dated copy of your letter to the Attorney
General. I call your attention to section 522.353 of the Act, which provides penalties for a failure to
release public records.
I am prepared to pay reasonable costs for copying, within the guidelines set by sections 552.261,
552.262, 552.263, 552.267, 552.268, 552.269.
As an alternative to condensing or compiling information to the specific pieces requested, the City may
provide me copies or access to documents ("raw documents") which contain the information requested.
If you have any questions, I can be reached by telephone at the number above.
Thank you for your timeliness and I await your response.
Sincerely,

/s/ Avi S. Adelman