Dallas' new fire and police chiefs sworn-in in joint ceremony
Monday marks a major leadership shift in the City of Dallas as two departments officially welcome new leaders.
After months of nationwide searches, the city swore in Dallas Fire-Rescue chief Justin Ball and Dallas police chief Daniel Comeaux.
The new police and fire chiefs are ushering in a new era for two of the most vital departments in Dallas. The joint swearing-in Monday night is a celebration for the two leaders. Comeaux and Ball have already been on the job for a few weeks now.
Comeaux is a former DEA agent in Houston and started his law enforcement career with the Houston Police Department. He said his top priorities are recruitment and going after criminals with felony warrants.
He's also promised to give his roughly 300 officers and command staff a chance to prove themselves before making any major changes.
"I've traveled around the entire United States, almost from the west coast all the way to the southeast, so I've seen many large police departments do some things really well, and I've seen some small police departments do some things really well and really bad," Comeaux told CBS News Texas last month. "We've got to put all that together in one pot and make Dallas the very best possible department we can."
Over at the fire department, Justin Ball is a familiar face, having served as the interim fire chief since last June. He isn't a new face, though – he has served the department for almost 30 years.
Ball started as a firefighter paramedic and moved up the ranks, now as the city's 18th fire chief. He said that fast and reliable response times are one of his top priorities.
He said right now, response times are good. About 5 and a half minutes should be the average time it takes to get fire and paramedic help in the city. Ball also wants to put a priority on first responders' mental health.
