Dozens of Tickets Issued in Dallas for Not Speaking English

After it was revealed that a rookie officer, Gary Bromley, had issued a citation on Oct. 2nd to Ernestina Mondragon for being a non-English-speaking driver --- a bogus offense --- it has now been revealed that dozens of tickets have been written in Dallas for similar "crimes."

Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle said on Friday afternoon that officers have written at least 39 citations to people over the past three years for not speaking English. Kunkle said all officers and supervisors involved will be investigated for dereliction of duty. Meanwhile, all pending citations will be dismissed, and people who paid fines will be reimbursed.

In Bromley's case, Bromley had stopped the 48-year-old Mondragon for making an illegal U-turn in the 500 block of Easton Road, near East Northwest Highway, according to the citation. However, he added a citation for being a non-English speaking driver, as well as for driving without a license (which was simply because she had forgotten her license; that charge was later dropped).

Kunkle called it a rookie mistake: under the Dallas City Code, taxi drivers must be able to speak English. There is also a federal statute that says commercial drivers must speak English.

However, since Bromley was a trainee officer, why did his trainer on that date, Senior Cpl. Daniel Larkin, 53, not step in to correct things?