NEWS 8 EXCLUSIVE
DALLAS — The Certificate of Merit is an award that is supposed to be given to Dallas police officers who do exceptional work.
But as News 8 first reported Tuesday night, more than 850 Dallas officers are slated to receive a Certificate of Merit for working during Super Bowl week.
The decision is causing controversy within the department. Many officers plan to decline the award, saying they were just doing their jobs.
One officer called it a "slap in the face."
The Dallas Police Department and Chief David Brown still won't comment on the decision to give the awards. They are saying they will take a closer look at the more than 850 names to see if everyone deserves to be on the list.
Chief Brown has said Super Bowl visitors left Dallas with a positive impression of the city thanks to the work of hundreds of officers.
Normally, awards go to officers after a board decides if they are deserving, but in this case, Chief Brown made the decision alone.
Now the City Council is asking questions.
"I still don't know at this point whether it was appropriate to do that or not," said Council member Ron Natinsky.
Some names on the award list could still be rescinded; News 8 has learned that some may be under investigation by internal affairs.
Also, Chief Brown chose only to honor those who worked at Super Bowl events, excluding the patrol officers who worked extra hours during the ice storm that same week.
The chief has apparently sent out e-mails to patrol supervisors saying if they know of officers who went beyond the call of duty, their names can be submitted for a commendation.
But it's not a guaranteed award like the ones planned for cops assigned to Super Bowl events.
E-mail rlopez@wfaa.com
