Dallas Police Headquarters Reopens After Attack

The Jack Evans Dallas Police Headquarters building reopened to the public Monday morning for the first time since Saturday morning's attack.

James Boulware, 35, was fatally shot by police after firing the shots, leading police on a chase and barricading himself inside an armored van for hours. Authorities and family members said Boulware showed signs of violence and mental instability for years before the attack. 

While police would not comment on any changes to security, a metal detector and extra officers greeted everyone who entered the lobby on Monday, which is a noticeable change from operations in the past.

Police allowed cameras inside the building for the first time to capture images of the damage. Numerous bullet holes pierced the area around the information desk, and paper covered two records department service windows.

The attack on headquarters led to renewed calls for more security at the facility as well as other police substations around the city.

The Dallas Fraternal Order of Police said it raised the issue back in 2013 when then-President Michael Walton drafted a letter entitled, "Have you ever wondered how much your safety was worth?"

In it, Walton makes the case for placing police behind bullet proof glass at headquarters and securing substation parking lots, which are currently open. And, in a January 2014 letter current Dallas Fraternal Order of Police President Richard Todd mentioned security concerns.

"The reality is we have known for some time our police facilities were lacking in security features," Todd said.

Todd said he's not surprised police screened people entering the lobby Monday.

"Doesn't surprise me one bit, because the city of Dallas is reactive," Todd said. "They don't go out and try to fix things when they see a problem. Things like this have to happen before they take it seriously, but that's sad because you have experts in your city as employees that told you years ago this needed to be done, this needed to be addressed, and they didn't do it."

Mayor Mike Rawlings said Monday in a tweet, "Our @DallasDP officers showed great courage on Saturday. We'll be taking a look at security upgrades in the weeks ahead."

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