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Dallas City Council approves a new way to show love for fallen first responders

The City Council unanimously approved the new program, which has been in the works since 2022.

Update:
Revised Sept. 3 at 5:16 p.m. to reflect that the street topper ceremony was delayed to Oct. 24 after the deaths of Officer Darron Burks and Dallas Fire-Rescue Officer Jimmy Small.

Dallas officials will soon begin installing street toppers bearing the names of dozens of first responders who have died in the line of duty across the city.

The City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved the program to better memorialize firefighters, paramedics and police officers who died in service to Dallas. Most ceremonial markers will appear on top of street signs near where the first responder spent their final moments.

“I am so happy,” said Jo-Ann Jackson, whose husband, DPD Officer Brian Jackson, was killed in the line of duty in 2005. “People are going to see it and they’re going to read it, and it’s going to mark that day in history.”

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The vote took place only a day before Dallas police Officer Darron Burks, 46, was shot and killed in the 900 block of East Ledbetter Drive.

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Dallas police and fire officials plan to start with the agencies’ earliest deaths and review each one with surviving family members, when possible. Since 1892, Dallas police have lost at least 93 officers in the line of duty. Dallas Fire-Rescue has said at least 78 employees have died in the line of duty since 1902.

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Artist renditions show a black-and-blue banner for police and a red-and-blue banner for the fire department. Both have the first responder’s name, rank and end-of-watch date in the center. “Gone But Not Forgotten” is written in yellow across the bottom of markers for the Dallas Police Department, while “Caring, Serving and Protecting” is in yellow along the bottom of those for Fire-Rescue.

The first two — one honoring a fire employee and one honoring a police officer — are scheduled to be installed Oct. 24. Cara Mendelsohn, who chairs the public safety committee, said the toppers will be within two blocks of each other in the Deep Ellum area.

Mendelsohn told council members the project has been in the works since early 2022 and is a “dignified and meaningful remembrance” of officers’ sacrifice. Dallas is following the lead of other cities that have honored fallen first responders with street toppers, she said.

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“It puts into historic context what occurred at various locations throughout our city,” Mendelsohn said.

The Brotherhood for the Fallen — a nonprofit run by Dallas police officers that offers financial help and emotional support to loved ones of first responders who died in the line of duty — has been a major advocate of the signs. Sgt. J. Steven Shivers, one of the nonprofit’s leaders, previously told The Dallas Morning News he began to work to bring the program here after seeing a similar topper in Boston years ago.

Shivers said in a statement this week that the organization is “laser focused” on honoring those who’ve died in the line of duty. “We do what we can to honor those officers around the country,” he said. “Here in Dallas, I wanted to do more. I’m truly honored to know the people who took my idea and made it reality.”

Presidents of the largest police and fire associations praised the effort. Jaime Castro, president of the Dallas Police Association, said there’s no greater burden than losing a husband, wife or friend in service to the community.

No one will understand what families endure, he said, but “because of diligent work done by individuals who have never forgotten, we will get to place their names on the street toppers and make their stories known to all.”

Fire-rescue has a monument at its training facility with fallen first responders’ names etched in stone, but it’s not open to the public, said Jeff Patterson, president of the Dallas Fire Fighters Association. After the street toppers, he said, residents who didn’t know that person’s story might research it and “keep their names alive.”

Jackson found out about the City Council’s vote while watching the news, which came as a surprise to her and other loved ones, she said. Her husband, Brian, was fatally shot in November 2005 near the 2400 block of North Henderson Avenue in Old East Dallas while responding to a call about a man threatening his ex-girlfriend.

Jo-Ann and Brian Jackson were married about two months before the shooting. Last week, she said, marked their 19th wedding anniversary, and she’s often still struck by grief at unexpected times. She said she hopes officials give ample notification to family members of the fallen so they can be there during the installations.

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“A name spoken is a person remembered, you know?” she said. “I’m glad that they made the right decision to honor our fallen police and fire. ... It just reassures that Brian won’t be forgotten.”

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