Dallas police will arrest fewer people found with small amounts of marijuana, chief says

Dallas police Chief Eddie Garcia said Tuesday he’s going to direct his officers to make fewer arrests for possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana and instead have them issue citations for the offense.

The policy change recognizes that people carrying that amount typically don’t plan to sell it. Also, data has shown low-level drug arrests in Dallas have disproportionately impacted Black and Latino residents, Garcia said.

It’s also intended to help officers shift their focus to combatting violent crimes, he said.

Officers will still arrest people with less than 2 ounces of marijuana if there is evidence that it’s for sale or if the person also has a firearm, is suspected of also committing a violent crime or has a criminal history with several convictions for violent offenses.

It’s unclear when the policy will officially take effect. Neither Garcia or any of the other police officials who spoke during a City Council Public Safety Committee meeting gave a timeline.

Senior Cpl. Melinda Gutierrez, a police spokeswoman, would only say after the meeting that it would begin “in the near future.”

This comes after Garcia told City Council members last month that he was planning to revise the department’s protocol on low-level marijuana arrests based on department data showing disparate impacts as he seeks more ways to address violent offenses.

“I don’t believe any officer, particularly ones that are going to buy into our vision of attacking violent crime, wants to spend four to six hours in jail with an individual solely for personal use of marijuana,” Garcia said Tuesday. “I just don’t feel that’s a good, efficient use of our time.”

Marijuana is illegal under state law. Possession of under 4 ounces of the drug is a Class A misdemeanor that could lead to a citation instead of an arrest.

Dallas officers made 183 arrests between Feb. 1 and Feb. 24 that were related to marijuana possession, department data released Tuesday shows. In 140 of those cases, people had less than 2 ounces of the drug on them. Police used cite and release nine times in February marijuana cases.

Officers made 1,996 total arrests over that time period.

According to a recent analysis by the Office of Community Police Oversight, Black people accounted for 57% of Dallas arrests for possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana over the last three years. Latino residents made up 34%, and 9% were white.

Deputy Police Chief Reuben Ramirez said Tuesday that some changes have already been made in how the department handles marijuana cases. Only cases being prosecuted by the district attorney’s office led to marijuana being sent for analysis.

“But in no way are we saying that it is allowable to use marijuana in public and to smoke it in public,” Garcia said.

Most of the nine members of the City Council committee expressed support for the policy change. Some were grateful that the change would not require a council resolution.

Garcia said the effects of the new policy will be reviewed, possibly for up to six months, and tweaks will be made if necessary.