Outdated Dallas Police gun range chief called "embarrassment" has rusted structures, chipped wood on buildings

DALLAS - FOX 4 has toured the Dallas Police gun range that DPD Chief Daniel Comeaux said he was "embarrassed" about, and the images we took to not paint a pretty picture of the facility.

Dated Dallas Police gun range

What's New:

FOX 4's Lori Brown was given a tour of the Dallas Police Department's Firearms Training Center this week. The following images were taken during the tour.

The wood on many of the building at the facility is chipped, as is the paint. The structure that ammo is stored in has rusted over.

Deputy Chief Stephen Williams, who provided the tour, tells Brown the targeting system used in training officers is functional, but far from state-of-the-art.

What they're saying:

Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux expressed embarrassment when asked about the status of the gun range.

"Once I got hired, I had to go qualify day one that I got here. And I was embarrassed about my firing range. And that was my first day on the job. I couldn’t believe that the city of Dallas had a firing range that looked the way it looked," he said.

Williams said recruits are surprised to see the state of the department's gun range when they first see it.

"Just like the Chief said, it is not what you would think for the ninth-largest police department," Williams said.

The backstory:

To replace the dated gun range and build a new Dallas Police Department facility, Dallas voters could be considering a $250 million bond in the coming months.

Last week, Dallas city staff presented council members with the plans for the UNT Dallas facility, as well as a second facility that could be located at the Dallas Executive Airport.

The second facility would be a public safety training complex to replace the current outdated facility. In addition to the gun range, it would also include a simulated village.

The chief said that if Dallas does not move forward with the two facilities, it will impact recruitment as the city tries to comply with a voter referendum to bring the department up to 4,000 officers.

"Right now, we’re recruiting at the highest level for police departments, really across the United States. That’s not gonna continue if we can’t come up to standards with other departments. We’re lacking, and it’s bad," he said.

The other side:

Several Dallas City Council members voiced their frustration over having to ask voters for more money.

"Here we are going back to the voters potentially, and asking them to foot the bill again," said Councilman Adam Bazaldua. 

Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn called it poor planning.

"Now, when the $50 million was added to the bond, I very vocally said that’s not enough money in a meeting. I got yelled at," she said. "Well, let me tell you, here we are because we never put in the right amount of money to begin with."

What's next:

The Dallas city manager said staff will bring an update in June with a plan to fund both facilities at the same time.

That is when the council will decide if they will ask voters to approve a bond for the project.