Farewell to The Chief: RIP David Kunkle

Former Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle, a pillar of leadership for the Dallas Police Department from 2004 to 2010, the man who upgraded the culture and spirit of the department bringing it into the modern era of policing, died peacefully on Friday morning, July 14.

The former chief was married to Dallas real estate lobbyist and former broadcast anchor Sarah Dodd, a close friend of this site. In 2021, Sarah revealed to friends and Dallas Morning News columnist Robert Wilonsky that her beloved husband was diagnosed with Lewy Body dementia, a form of dementia.

On Friday, she wasn’t ready to speak to the media, understandably. Two years ago, in an exclusive interview, Sarah described the striking contrast of the brain disease that had rendered her brilliant husband struggling for basics, as dementia snatches the victim’s mind:

“He had an international reputation for turning around organizations in turmoil. He was known for his impeccable judgment. To me, that’s the significant contrast: Someone who was a successful big-city police chief — for 25 years of his career — and now it’s often basic concepts that are difficult for him to navigate. This is a serious brain disease that has no cure and doesn’t discriminate.”

The Dallas Morning News

Though we deal with the implications of real estate on this website, we also touch on the people and issues who influence the quality of life in Dallas, like David Kunkle and his wife, Sarah Dodd. We had a chance to write about the couples’ East Dallas home when they marketed it with Wayne Garcia, and I took a personal tour.

David Kunkle was as proud of his stately home as he was of his beautiful, energetic wife. I recall he and Sarah walked me through every room, explaining all that had been done to their home in a recent remodel. Sarah was most pleased with the former chief’s turning one entire bedroom into a giant closet for his bride, where her beautiful collection of shoes could be displayed and organized on custom-built shoe shelves covering an entire wall. They called it the Sex in The City closet — well, Sarah did!

Indeed, there it is, a wall of slanted shelves for Sarah’s shoes, Choos, and red-soled Louboutins, topped with a row of David’s police hats given to him while he was Chief of the Dallas PD. The hats are from around the world — the Soviet Union, Holland, Thailand, and even Great Britain. To the other side of the room are racks and racks of clothes. Of course, this room could easily be another bedroom, study or nursery. It has a closet, and connects to the massive master bath with deep soaking tub.

The Police Chief and the Reporter Put Their Greenland Hills House With “Sex in the City” Closet on Market!

Chief Kunkle, who joined the force at age 21 and graduated first in his academy class, was the only person to serve as chief of three North Texas police departments. His career in law enforcement spanned nearly 40 years. Many, from police rank and file to political leaders, say he was the best Chief of Police that Dallas ever had.

Under Chief Kunkle, the Dallas crime rate was lowered significantly across the board, including violent crime.

Kunkle is also credited with upgrading police culture in Dallas, making strides in transparency and reform. He introduced responsible “community policing”, now a proven concept in lowering crime. He stopped car chases, creating one of the most restrictive chase policies in the nation, which saved lives. He banned the notorious chokehold years before many other police departments would ban them. He was the first to place dash-cams in police cars, and he instituted diverse hiring of police by specifically recruiting Hispanics, which evolved into the Dallas National Latino Law Enforcement Organization. As a result, the department became vastly more diverse as it fought crime, reflecting the face of the city it protected. Chief Kunkle worked hard to improve relations with the city’s minority communities, building up support from neighborhood groups that would last throughout his tenure.

Scott Goldstein, Chief of Communications & Policy for Downtown Dallas Inc. (DDI), covered City Hall for The Dallas Morning News from 2006 to 2014. He called Kunkle the “gold standard” of policing and politics:

“Chief David Kunkle was the gold standard of what a big (or small) city police chief — and what every public servant — should strive to be. He did not just throw around words like honesty, transparency, accountability. He lived them.”

The Dallas Morning News

Honesty and integrity were at the root of his service, says Goldstein:

Kunkle was on the forefront of a new era of policing, one in which it was encouraged to show empathy toward people that not long before were considered criminals. My first sit-down interview with Kunkle in 2007 was for a story about the department’s prostitution diversion program. It offered women who had a record of prostitution offenses the opportunity to get the help they needed.

The Dallas Morning News

Kunkle retired as Dallas police chief in 2010, did some consulting, then ran for mayor of Dallas. He was beaten by Mike Rawlings but was always available to offer advice to candidates. Ron Waldrop, a former assistant police chief who worked closely with Kunkle, said it was a shame for Dallas that Kunkle did not win that mayoral election.

Loved ones will celebrate Kunkle’s life and legacy on Wednesday, July 19, at 10 a.m. at the Sparkman Hillcrest Funeral Home in Dallas.