I have always tried to do my best in everything I do including volunteering to help the City of Dallas. 
In the past, I have volunteered my time for many causes but I have to admit, lately I’m beginning to wonder if it’s worth the grief. I used to be a volunteer in patrol for the Dallas Police Department. One thing they never prepared me for during my training was how many people would call me a “Cop Wannabe”. That was the farthest thing on my mind when I became a Volunteer in Patrol. I did it because I wanted to help my neighborhood. I was in the program for five years, never with a complaint from anyone. Then one day I reported what I considered a junk car to 911 that was left in the street and was blocking traffic. The police stickered it and the owner had a set time period to remove it. They didn’t, it was towed and eventually sold for scrap at auction.
The owner of the vehicle then sued me for over $2,000.00 and said the police department gave him all my personal information. They denied this but how would he been able to determine who I was? Open records is supposed to use a magic marker to black out a persons name and address if someone requests a report on a 911 call. It took about 2 years to get to court, but finally it did and the judge said I did not have to pay for the car just because the city towed it.
One day I called the PD to check on a problem that had been reported in our neighborhood and the lady officer started being short with me and acted like she was annoyed that I had gotten involved to help fix the problem. I asked her if she felt the world would be a better place if more people got involved to help others. She told me the world would be a better place if I and other people would mind their own business! And that came from a police officer!
I became involved in a problem where cars are being parked on both sides of the road along with 18 wheelers that could block a fire truck of ambulance in the event of an emergency. A police sergeant I talked with met me at the area to look at the problem. He told me there was in fact a violation but he was going to use his discretion to not issue any tickets or do anything about it. He said he didn’t think it was enough of a problem to take any action.
Then there was the case of a bad spot in the road in my neighborhood on a major roadway that I called the city about many times over about six months. The city street department representative I was working with to get it fixed, after I gave up on 311 said they looked at it and were going to take no further action because they thought it did not need repair. Later on, a man coming down the street way too fast hit the spot, lost control of his car, hit a tree sideways in the median and was killed instantly. The front half of the car broke off and ended up further down the street. I emailed a picture of the wreck to the city rep and about 2 days later they fixed the spot. It bothered me for awhile that I did not continue to pursue the issue longer. Maybe I could have saved a life.
I once saw a bumper sticker on a car that said “I feel so much better now that I have given up.” While I haven’t yet given up I know how that person probably felt.
Mickey Briggs
