I-30 Weekend Shutdown, DART Leadership Scrutiny and Police Investigations Top Dallas Transit and Safety News

Drivers and transit riders in Dallas face a full weekend highway closure downtown, following a deadly police standoff on southern Dallas highways on Thursday and ongoing scrutiny of local transit and police leadership.

NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth and WFAA reported on Friday that all I-30 lanes will be shut down through downtown Dallas this weekend. The scheduled downtown closure comes after police activity forced a major highway shutdown in southern Dallas on Thursday. According to CBS News and FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth, both directions of I-45 and I-20 were shut down at their interchange due to the police response. Dallas News reported that the incident involved an hourslong standoff at the I-45 and I-20 interchange on Thursday that ended with one dead. NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth reported that the southern Dallas interchange later reopened after the shutdown ended.

Public safety agencies in Dallas are also addressing a shooting in South Dallas and an internal police investigation. FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth reported on Friday that 3 men were injured after a fight in South Dallas ended in gunfire. Meanwhile, NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth reported that Dallas police are facing questions over an investigation that involves a public information officer. According to WFAA, the Dallas Police Association said the department's top spokesperson should be placed on leave during the investigation, calling the situation "just not fair."

At DART, officials are defending the agency's CEO hire as Dallas leaders question transit ridership and the executive's record in Jacksonville, News4JAX reported. In Florida, News4JAX reported that a city councilman called JTA "a nightmare" and called for the former JTA CEO to testify over a $40M financial crisis, while the Jacksonville Daily Record examined the path to what it called JTA's "death spiral." Closer to home, Community Impact Newspaper reported that Richardson hosted a lighting ceremony for the US 75 DART bridge, and both Dallas Express and Yahoo reported on a dispatch alert describing a "demon" claim at a DART station.