DALLAS DEPUTY WORKS FROM EXPERIENCE
Aziz a 24-year veteran of Dallas PD
Dallas Deputy Chief Malik Aziz likes to describe himself as a community guy who fights crime — and he says having that emphasis on the community has made him a better law enforcement officer.
“I’m a public servant, and I’m obligated to make sure people are safe. I’m also obligated to hear people who have concerns. I’ve never gone to a place wearing my rank. I’m a community guy,” Aziz said. “When you grow up in (those) communities, you have a better understanding of how to deal with issues that have been plaguing those communities for decades.”
Aziz, 47, is one of six finalists for the Memphis police director job. He’s a strong proponent of opening a dialogue between advocacy groups and protesters to find answers. Following the killing of five police officers in Dallas earlier this month, Aziz appeared in national media with a message of unity.
“There can be no progress unless we actually work together. The police and the community must work together. There is no us versus them. It’s only us working together,” Aziz said on PBS following the shooting.
Aziz has a national profile — perhaps more than any other candidate for the Memphis job. He’s appeared on CNN, PBS and National Public Radio talking about community policing, race relations, the deadly shooting in Dallas and being a black police officer.
Aziz started working for the Dallas Police Department in 1992 as a patrol officer. From there, Aziz rose through the ranks and since 2008 he has served as deputy chief working on a range of issues, most recently in the special projects division.
In May, Aziz said he was picked by the Dallas police chief to reform the department’s intervention program to help officers receiving frequent complaints.
The 24-year law enforcement veteran holds a bachelor’s degree in criminology and criminal justice from the University of Texas at Arlington and an MBA from the University of Dallas.
In 2015, Aziz was a finalist for chief of police in San Antonio and Corpus Christi, Texas, and Tucson, Arizona, according to media reports.
Aziz has also been a finalist in other cities including Miami, Seattle, Raleigh and Fayetteville
North Carolina, according to his resume.
His resume is long and filled with recognitions. But more than a decade ago, Aziz sued the department.
In 2003, Aziz and about 19 other police officers filed a discrimination lawsuit against the city of Dallas and the police department. In the lawsuit, the officers claimed that Aziz and other sergeants on the promotional list for lieutenants were “skipped over for promotion based on race,” according to the lawsuit. The judge ruled in favor of the city.
Aziz said he supported his fellow police officers in the lawsuit because he was the president of the police union at the time. But he wasn’t personally affected. He said the lawsuit “proved to be unnecessary.”
Sara Mokuria, co-founder of Mothers Against Police Brutality in Dallas, said that while she doesn’t know Aziz personally, he reached out to her and they will meet next month.
“He said he wants to bridge the gap and move forward to repair the issues we have regarding police brutality,” said Mokuria, whose father was killed by police in 1992.
Aaron Michaels founded the New Black Panther Party in Dallas in the 1990s and is critical of the Dallas Police Department, but says Aziz is one of the best deputy chiefs he’s ever worked with.
“We couldn’t have done some of the things we needed (inside the police department) without him,” said Michaels.
Michaels says he’s known Aziz for about 30 years and that Memphis would be lucky to have him leading the police department.
“He had a hard life coming up and he turned many of the negatives around,” he said. “He brings that perspective to the table.”
Michaels said Aziz is also not afraid to point out bad officers.
“He’s able to spot problem officers.”
As promoter Sidney Shlenker tried to create tourist attractions along the Memphis riverfront, his six local companies rolled up millions of dollars in debts from Lucerne, Switzerland, to Luxembourg to Los Angeles. But when the companies went into federal bankruptcy court Tuesday, records showed that most of the more than 200 creditors potentially hurt by the action are individuals and small businesses from Memphis. Shlenker’s companies voluntarily filed for bankruptcy court protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code, which is used by companies attempting to reorganize their financial affairs and return to profitability.
Gov. Frank Clement and Senator Albert Gore (D, Tenn.) stood midway on the 4.6-million-dollar Tennessee River Bridge near here Sunday and snipped a red, white and blue ribbon to open interstate traffic on I-40 between Tennessee’s two largest cities. Governor Clement, who cut through the ribbon first, said interstate work being carried out across the nation “is the greatest public works project in the history of all mankind.” Memphis and East Arkansas got assurance yesterday that they will have a new bridge spanning the Mississippi River at Memphis, to cost at least six million dollars.
The Catholic Club building fund is rapidly nearing the $10,000 mark. At noon yesterday the contributions so far received totaled $8,850, including a donation of $1,000 by the Young Ladies Institute.
The president of the Maine Pharmaceutical Association, in his annual address, took strong ground against prohibition, declaring that it had failed absolutely in Maine. Being a druggist, his opinion must command respect.