DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF News) — One of the larger cities in Texas is trying to lure Dallas Police officers away from North Texas.
The San Antonio Police Department has paid for billboards on major Dallas highways, including 75, I-35, and the Dallas North Tollway, touting things like a shorter academy training, competitive salaries, a $7,500 relocation bonus, and a strong pension.
It’s no coincidence considering both pension and salary problems plaguing officers in Dallas, but an SAPD recruiter says Dallas officers who she’s spoken with are still hesitant to move.
“It’s starting all over again,” said recruiter Yvonne Padilla. “They’ve invested their time into their police department with hopes to retire from there.”
Still, she says the response has been positive and that many Dallas officers have attended information meetings, like the one pictured above. But as far as the ads go and focusing them around the pension, Padilla says they are not meant as a jab at the Dallas PD’s problems.
Instead, she says the reason they targeted Dallas, as well as other cities including El Paso, is because the municipality and demographics are similar in nature.
“We understand the struggles that they’re having with their pension, but it was not an attack at Dallas,” Padilla said. “As a matter of fact, we support the Dallas Police Department and all the things that they do.”