The Dallas Policed Department’s slow response time is emerging as a major point of contention in the murder case of Zarea Dixon, a 25-year-old woman who, according to an arrest-warrant affidavit, called police for help more than an hour before officers found her beaten and strangled body inside her Oak Cliff apartment in February.
The victim’s mother reported to the Dallas Morning News that her daughter was covered in wounds and signs of physical abuse allegedly from her ex, Tahj Pinson, 24, who was arraigned on a murder charge last week. He has been in the Dallas County jail since March 8 on a charge of burglary with the intent of committing a felony in connection with the attack. The victim’s family tells reporters the police response time of more than an hour is unacceptable. Dixon’s mother believes a faster response could have saved Zarea’s life.
This is not the first time police response times have been called into question. Late last year police chief Eddie Garcia pointed to staffing shortages and said, “That’s something we work on, and we continue to work on. I know it’s an issue. But again, we are growing as a department. And as we grow, we hope the response times reduce.
