The Dallas Ambush: One Year Later

The Dallas Ambush: One Year Later

Remembering the deadliest day for police since 9/11.

I’m not sure if you know this or not, but the majority of the Security Today team is based out of Dallas. Me, personally, I’ve lived in Dallas for over half my life. If someone asks where “home” is, my answer is Dallas.

I don’t have to tell you about how the Dallas ambush affected me, this town, our police or the security of the city, state and nation. You saw it play out on national television. You listened to news anchors try to explain the inexpiable. How Micah Johnson drove into downtown Dallas with the sole intent to shoot and kill as many police officers as possible. Unfortunately, five heroes did not survive the night making it the deadliest night for law enforcement since September 11, 2001.

July 7, 2016

The shooting happened in downtown Dallas, on the metaphorical front steps of El Centro Community College, making the school the stage for such a heinous act. At first, the information coming out of the scene was chaotic and unfathomable. News stations around the county were trying to decipher the misinformation and hectic live footage coming out of the Texas city.

The streets that night were filled by protesters taking part in a peaceful protest against police in the shootings of several black men in the United States in 2016 and before. Dallas Police had posted photos on their social media pages of officers engaging with protesters, flanking them as they walked with each other, protecting their right to freedom of speech.

When the shots rang out on the corner of North Lamar and Elm Street the headlines read, “Shooting at Dallas Protest.”

There wasn’t a news station in the country that believed this was a targeted attack on police officers until former Dallas Police Chief David Brown gave his first press conference just a short time after the first shots were heard.

“The suspect has told our negotiators that the ‘end is coming’ and that he is going to hurt and kill more of us, meaning law enforcement,” Brown said at the press conference. “We will work tirelessly until we figure out what motivated this attack on our officers.”

The numbers were high: nine officers shot and five dead. By the end of the night, four Dallas Police officers and a DART officer would be identified as those deceased.

Those investigating the case would never get a straight answer on the motivation for the attack as Johnson would not make it to the morning alive. Officers attempted to negotiate a peaceful surrender with Johnson, but he disregarded their attempts to end the standoff saying he’d only negotiate with “black officers.”

Brown told reporters they’d tried to negotiate with Johnson for over two hours, but when it seemed clear he would not negotiate further they made the decision to use a bomb disposal remote control vehicle armed with about one pound of C-4 explosive. Johnson saw the robot coming towards him and shot at it several times before it exploded, killing him.

The Aftermath

As a result of the shooting, local law enforcement officers worked more than $800,000 in overtime to help the Dallas Police Department. This included $86,000 spent by the Dallas County Sheriff's Office, $88,000 spent by the Arlington Police Department, about $705,250 by DPD, and unknown sums by the Irving Police Department and the Dallas Fire-Rescue Department.

The shooting on DPD and DART officers as well as the shooting, just one week later in Baton Rouge, Louisiana that would take the lives of three police officers, would force agencies to reevaluate how to protect their officers. Patrol cars were filled with teams of two as officers were paired together for security.

Law enforcement across the country would begin to readjust response strategies as well as increased security and surveillance at protesting events against the police. Governor Greg Abbot would later inform DPD that they had received a $1 million grant from Homeland Security for protective gear.  

In the months leading up to the shooting, local police departments, including DPD, had been struggling to hire new recruits and retain old ones due to low salaries. Within 12 days of the shooting, DPD received 467 job applications, representing a 344% hike from the 136 applications received by the department in June of 2016.

Most contribute this increase to Brown when he brazenly asked those who protest the police to join them.

“We’re asking cops to do too much in this country,” Brown said. “If anything can be done, it needs to be done by the public, which includes the protesters. Don’t be a part of the problem. We’re hiring. Get out of the protest line and fill out an application.”

Remembering Those Fallen One Year Later

DPD Senior Cpl. Lorne Ahrens, 48, had been with the department since 2002.

DPD Officer Michael Krol, 40, had been with the department since 2007.

DPD Sgt. Michael Smith, 55, former Army Ranger, had been with the department since 1989.

DART Officer Brent Thompson, 43, a former Marine, had been with the department since 2009.

DPD Officer Patricio “Patrick” Zamarripa, 35, former Navy sailor and Iraq war veteran, had been with the department since 2011.

Featured

  • Analysis of AI Tools Shows 85 Percent Have Been Breached

    AI tools are becoming essential to modern work, but their fast, unmonitored adoption is creating a new kind of security risk. Recent surveys reveal a clear trend – employees are rapidly adopting consumer-facing AI tools without employer approval, IT oversight, or any clear security policies. According to Cybernews Business Digital Index, nearly 90% of analyzed AI tools have been exposed to data breaches, putting businesses at severe risk. Read Now

  • Software Vulnerabilities Surged 61 Percent in 2024, According to New Report

    Action1, a provider of autonomous endpoint management (AEM) solutions, today released its 2025 Software Vulnerability Ratings Report, revealing a 61% year-over-year surge in discovered software vulnerabilities and a 96% spike in exploited vulnerabilities throughout 2024, amid an increasingly aggressive threat landscape. Read Now

  • Evolving Cybersecurity Strategies: Uniting Human Risk Management and Security Awareness Training

    Organizations are increasingly turning their attention to human-focused security approaches, as two out of three (68%) cybersecurity incidents involve people. Threat actors are shifting from targeting networks and systems to hacking humans via social engineering methods, living off human errors as their most prevalent attack vector. Whether manipulated or not, human cyber behavior is leveraged to gain backdoor access into systems. This mainly results from a lack of employee training and awareness about evolving attack techniques employed by malign actors. Read Now

  • Report: 1 in 3 Easily Exploitable Vulnerabilities Found on Cloud Assets

    CyCognito recently released new research highlighting critical security vulnerabilities across cloud-hosted assets, revealing that one in three easily exploitable vulnerabilities or misconfigurations are found on cloud assets. As organizations increasingly shift to multi-cloud strategies, the findings underscore significant security gaps that could provide attackers with potential footholds into networks. Read Now

  • Built for Today, Ready for Tomorrow

    Selecting the right VMS is critical for any organization that depends on video surveillance to ensure safety, security and operational efficiency. While many organizations focus on immediate needs such as budget and deployment size, let us review some of the long-term considerations that can significantly impact a VMS's utility and flexibility. Read Now

New Products

  • Mobile Safe Shield

    Mobile Safe Shield

    SafeWood Designs, Inc., a manufacturer of patented bullet resistant products, is excited to announce the launch of the Mobile Safe Shield. The Mobile Safe Shield is a moveable bullet resistant shield that provides protection in the event of an assailant and supplies cover in the event of an active shooter. With a heavy-duty steel frame, quality castor wheels, and bullet resistant core, the Mobile Safe Shield is a perfect addition to any guard station, security desks, courthouses, police stations, schools, office spaces and more. The Mobile Safe Shield is incredibly customizable. Bullet resistant materials are available in UL 752 Levels 1 through 8 and include glass, white board, tack board, veneer, and plastic laminate. Flexibility in bullet resistant materials allows for the Mobile Safe Shield to blend more with current interior décor for a seamless design aesthetic. Optional custom paint colors are also available for the steel frame.

  • Camden CM-221 Series Switches

    Camden CM-221 Series Switches

    Camden Door Controls is pleased to announce that, in response to soaring customer demand, it has expanded its range of ValueWave™ no-touch switches to include a narrow (slimline) version with manual override. This override button is designed to provide additional assurance that the request to exit switch will open a door, even if the no-touch sensor fails to operate. This new slimline switch also features a heavy gauge stainless steel faceplate, a red/green illuminated light ring, and is IP65 rated, making it ideal for indoor or outdoor use as part of an automatic door or access control system. ValueWave™ no-touch switches are designed for easy installation and trouble-free service in high traffic applications. In addition to this narrow version, the CM-221 & CM-222 Series switches are available in a range of other models with single and double gang heavy-gauge stainless steel faceplates and include illuminated light rings.

  • ResponderLink

    ResponderLink

    Shooter Detection Systems (SDS), an Alarm.com company and a global leader in gunshot detection solutions, has introduced ResponderLink, a groundbreaking new 911 notification service for gunshot events. ResponderLink completes the circle from detection to 911 notification to first responder awareness, giving law enforcement enhanced situational intelligence they urgently need to save lives. Integrating SDS’s proven gunshot detection system with Noonlight’s SendPolice platform, ResponderLink is the first solution to automatically deliver real-time gunshot detection data to 911 call centers and first responders. When shots are detected, the 911 dispatching center, also known as the Public Safety Answering Point or PSAP, is contacted based on the gunfire location, enabling faster initiation of life-saving emergency protocols.