Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, AG Ken Paxton say Dallas DA's reforms 'could promote lawlessness'

Updated at 2:30 p.m.: Revised to include additional information from a Thursday news conference with law enforcement associations.

Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton, in a joint letter Thursday, criticized Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot's announcement that his office wouldn't prosecute certain low-level crimes, saying the DA should "take seriously your oath and your charge to enforce Texas law."

Abbott and Paxton, both Republicans, said they hoped Creuzot, who ran as a Democrat, would reconsider his plans. They joined law enforcement organizations by taking issue with three of the reforms Creuzot outlined in an open letter to the public last week:

• Declining to prosecute THC possession cases for first-time offenders, as long as the cases weren't in a drug-free zone and didn't involve evidence of delivery or a deadly weapon.
• Declining to prosecute thefts of personal items worth less than $750, unless the theft was for financial gain.
• Dismissing all misdemeanor criminal trespass cases that don't involve a physical intrusion or residence.

Creuzot has billed the plan as a way to stop a system that he says penalizes poor people and keeps them in poverty.

When he was sworn into office in January, Creuzot promised a new era of reforms and that he wouldn't prosecute people for being poor.

"We will still prosecute the violent criminals. We will still keep our focus on keeping the community safe," he said then. "But we will also take care not to make the community worse or an individual worse just because we've done that in the past."

But Abbott and Paxton said Creuzot's plan goes beyond reform and amounts to recklessness.

Abbott had already criticized Creuzot's plan on Twitter, calling it socialism and saying it encouraged crime.

"If someone is hungry they can just steal some food," Abbott tweeted Sunday night. "If cold, steal a coat. Where does it end? It's wealth redistribution by theft."

In their joint letter Thursday, Abbott and Paxton said, "Actions that abandon the rule of law and that could promote lawlessness are altogether different."

Abbott and Paxton said reforming state law was up to the Legislature, and district attorneys have no power to "categorically rewrite the law."

On Wednesday, the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas called for Creuzot's removal from office, calling the DA's plans "unacceptable." On Thursday, state and local police associations in North Texas echoed the same narrative at a joint news conference.

Texas Municipal Police Association vice president Travis Hammond denounced the new policies.

"These policies were implemented without consulting our law enforcement leadership. In case you have not seen the memo, the district attorney has effectively told criminals that they are more than welcome here," Hammond said.

Police leaders have also taken issue with the policy not to prosecute some thefts of personal items under $750, which Creuzot said has largely been misinterpreted. The DA said in a statement Wednesday that the new policy was based on research that people who steal necessities like food or diapers "do so out of hunger and poverty."

Creuzot said "personal items" referred to necessities like baby formula, food and diapers. Anyone who shoplifts for economic gain would still be prosecuted, he said.

His statement came after one of Texas' largest police unions called for his removal over the plan.

Police union leaders said the policy took away powers of arrest for patrol officers. Creuzot said that he hasn't directed officers to stop making theft arrests, and that police officers will continue to operate according to their own policies.

Dallas Police Association President Mike Mata said Thursday that he had "utmost respect" for Creuzot and supported reforming the bail system. But Mata said he still had questions about Creuzot's memo Wednesday clarifying the theft policy.

"All we are simply asking is for the DA to tap the brake," Mata said. "Stop for a second."