Kelli Smith

The full website goes live in the fall. We’ve hired @kellixsmith.bsky.social, one of Dallas' best reporters, as a staff writer. Email newsletters go out every Wednesday. We want to help Dallas understand what’s working, what’s not, and why. Join us! (Also it’s free.) labreportdallas.com/subscribe

🧵 Fourish months ago, @sharongrigsby.bsky.social and I holed up in essentially a glass-doored closet and talked at each other until we could see the shape of a new publication. The Lab Report has a ways to go—website (the design rips), social accounts (yikes)—but we’re now running stories.

The Lab Report Dallas Helping the city understand itself.

So excited to share this journalism, which goes deep on important topics impacting North Texas families. My first stories publish in the coming weeks. 🙂

You can sign up (for free!) to see us in your inbox every week:

If Not Jail, Then Where? The district attorney believes too many people are being taken to jail who need help more than punishment. Doing something about it is a different story.

Matt dove into Dallas' deflection center, an initiative championed by District Attorney John Creuzot to connect nonviolent criminal trespass offenders with services. It's meant to break the cycle keeping those people jailed.

The problem: Cops aren't bringing them there.

The Safety Net Has Ripped The Lab Report's first story is an inside look at how nonprofit service providers in North Texas have weathered half a year of 'unprecedented' funding cuts.

Sharon spent 6 months with North Texas nonprofits navigating uncertainty amid federal cuts, layoffs, and delayed reimbursements.

The effect is already being felt in the form of 33 million fewer meals, reduced stipends, fewer kids at summer camp, and more:

🧵Our first stories are out at The Lab Report Dallas!

Leading up to our website launch, we're publishing a new piece every Wednesday to offer a look at the solutions-based journalism you can expect from us.

Our first two by @sharongrigsby.bsky.social and @goodmoine.bsky.social are must-reads. 👇

Dallas police face a torrent of challenges. How can new Chief Daniel Comeaux succeed? Dallas' new police chief gave himself 90 days to learn before making changes. Still, since his start April 23, he’s had to contend with wide-ranging issues.

For my last @dallasnews.com story, I sat down with new Chief Daniel Comeaux and community and police leaders to ask how the ex-DEA leader can succeed amid a torrent of challenges here.

“Dallas is gonna have to deal with me because I’m not going anywhere.”

The public safety beat led me to neighborhoods, city meetings and courtrooms across North Texas. It taught me so much about building trust and handling sensitive topics. It’s a beat with a plethora of stories.

Now, the position is open! I'm happy to answer questions possible applicants might have.

Today is my last day at @dallasnews.com and it's still hard to believe it snuck up. Words can't express my gratitude for DMN's chance on me when I was a breaking news fellow.

I'm leaving after ~4 years covering Dallas PD, which has been an incredible opportunity to work on important stories.

Not a great situation tonight at Dallas city hall. The city attorney's interruption was a surprise to all board members who had questions prepared for the police chief. We are not done with this.

City attorneys bar Dallas police chief from speaking about immigration The directive came minutes after Dallas police Chief Daniel Comeaux introduced himself to the Community Police Oversight Board.

New: Dallas police oversight members arrived at their meeting tonight expecting to speak with the city’s top cop about a topic on many minds: immigration.

There was one catch: They weren’t allowed.

There are more people in the audience today than the usual monthly oversight meetings. Board member Ozzie Smith thanks those who came out to hear the Chief’s views and is outlining the six pages of questions they’d hoped to ask.

“This is not the meeting that we had anticipated as a board.”

Board member Brandon Friedman (@brandonfriedman.bsky.social) is trying to ask the chief for his views on immigration, but is interrupted by a city attorney who says they can’t ask anything him about immigration or specific policies because the agenda only said it’d be a “general introduction.”

Chief Daniel Comeaux opens his remarks at Dallas’ Community Police Oversight Board by addressing yesterday’s protests. He said he’s sad officers had rocks and bottles thrown at them, but he’s proud of their strength and only one person was arrested.

Watch: dallastx.new.swagit.com/views/113/dc...

Dallas rally to show solidarity with LA protesters turns tense as crowd takes to street Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge plays host Monday for those who aim to “stand in solidarity” with L.A. following immigration enforcement operations, protests.

Tonight’s Dallas protests appear to be the most tense DPD/protester interactions since 2020 George Floyd demonstrations. DPD trained a specialized group after those to better handle mass protests.

They also come one day before Chief Comeaux is set to address Dallas’ police oversight board.

We are very pro things-that-are-good-for-Dallas: labreportdallas.com

We're building something new over here, and I'm so excited to have Kelli with us. If you care about compelling local journalism that isn't boring, we're launching this for Dallas later this summer. Sign up here: labreportdallas.com

Thank you so much, Brandon! I’ll still be showing up to those late night police oversight meetings! 🙂

The Lab Report Dallas Helping the city understand itself.

I’m elated to have the opportunity to build The Lab Report with Sharon and Matt, two longtime Dallas journalists I’ve admired for years. We want to make a difference for our community.

We'll start publishing this summer.

You can sign up (for free!🎉) here: labreportdallas.com/subscribe

I care deeply about Dallas and am thrilled to keep reporting here. I start in late June.

I’ll continue to cover public safety, but we’ll also dive into housing, education and more. Our aim is storytelling that can spur change, unearthing what's working in Dallas, what's not and why.

I’m eternally grateful to @dallasnews.com, where I’ve grown as a journalist and met people whose friendships I’ll always treasure. I'm honored to have reported on stories from DPD's loss of evidence to the unnoticed death of a man in hospital police custody to the departure of our DPD chief.

The Lab Report Dallas Helping the city understand itself.

🧵 Life news!: I’m leaving The Dallas Morning News after 4.5 great years, but I’m not going far.

I’m thrilled to announce I’m joining @sharongrigsby.bsky.social and @goodmoine.bsky.social at The Lab Report Dallas, an independent newsroom powered by the Child Poverty Action Lab. ✍️

Bill endorsed by Dallas PD would’ve sealed unsustained cop misconduct records from public The bill could’ve shuttered access to scores of misconduct investigations in Dallas and elsewhere.

New: An effort to seal unsustained cop misconduct records across Texas failed after a challenge in the TX House. The bill was supported by Dallas PD but raised transparency and accountability concerns.

"If you can’t get the record, trust suffers.”

Dallas police want 130 officers downtown in the next few months. How will the city do it? The enforcement boost would raise downtown police staffing to one of its highest levels in recent years, officials said.

Dallas police want 130 officers downtown by midsummer — its highest staffing level there in a decade.

The effort is meant to address public safety and fear of crime. But how DPD will get there amid a staffing crisis is complicated.

Judge tosses excessive force suit against Dallas cops who mistook man for someone else A federal judge tossed a lawsuit by a former security guard who alleged Dallas police officers used excessive force after mistaking him for a family violence...

Silvester Hayes was detained after Dallas cops mistook him for a man with a similar name. After realizing their mistake, police still jailed him.

He lost his job and home.

Now, a judge has tossed his suit — saying the cops had probable cause because Hayes didn’t use a turn signal and resisted.

Dallas police officer who was fired, then reinstated, is arrested again Former Dallas police Chief Eddie García fired Carlos Almeida in 2022, but he was reinstated this year.

A Dallas officer who was fired, then reinstated, was arrested again. Carlos Almeida faces public intoxication. He'd previously been accused of family strangulation, which was dropped in 2023.

Thank you so much!

Dallas SWAT doctor Alex Eastman has years of acclaim — and sexual harassment allegations A Dallas Morning News investigation found Alexander Eastman has a history, spanning three employers and at least a decade, of alleged inappropriate behavior...

After our investigation revealed DPD’s chief medical officer has a history of sexual harassment allegations spanning at least a decade, Dallas PD Chief Daniel Comeaux told us he’s actively looking into Alexander Eastman.

“I’ll be making a decision as soon as I can gather all the facts.”

Dallas police Chief Daniel Comeaux to earn at least $310,000 annually, offer letter shows Daniel Comeaux's offer letter shows he can receive an additional $30,000 a year through retention and performance bonuses.

Dallas PD Chief Daniel Comeaux is making at least $310,000 a year. I asked how long he plans to stay Dallas' chief.

"If I can work 10 more years, that’d be amazing,” Comeaux said. “I want everybody to understand that I plan on staying here.”

Dallas SWAT doctor Alex Eastman has years of acclaim — and sexual harassment allegations A Dallas Morning News investigation found Alexander Eastman has a history, spanning three employers and at least a decade, of alleged inappropriate behavior...

Dallas SWAT doctor Alex Eastman has been influential for years and is now in a national role at DHS.

We spent more than a year looking into him — and found that as he earned acclaim, he also had a history of alleged sexual harassment spanning 3 employers over at least a decade.