City Manager Kimberly Tolbert responded that laws prevent the city from making payments to individuals that could constitute an unconstitutional gift.
DALLAS — A lawyer who said he represents the mother of slain Dallas police officer Darron Burks asked the city to make a single payment to her “in whatever amount you believe would bring the city of Dallas some good publicity,” according to a demand letter obtained by WFAA through an open records request.
The March 27 letter from Fort Worth attorney J. Shelby Sharpe alleged police department guidelines for probationary officers meant Burks should have been accompanied by another officer in the vehicle on the night he was killed. The city, however, said Dallas Police Department procedures allowed him to ride and respond to calls solo.
Sharpe said the police department has been “extremely kind and considerate of our client and has ministered to her in exemplary fashion.”
It goes on to ask City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert to consider proposing the city make a single payment to Cherie Jeffery as a “gesture of good will.”
Burks was ambushed, shot and killed inside his squad car shortly after 10 p.m. on Aug. 29, 2024 in the parking lot of an Oak Cliff nonprofit. Two police officers who responded to the scene were injured during a shootout with a suspect, who was later shot and killed by police on a Lewisville interstate.
In a response letter dated May 9, Tolbert wrote that Burks — who graduated from the police academy in December 2023 — was allowed to ride and respond to calls alone per DPD procedures.
“The City is extremely grateful for the selfless public service that Officer Burks provided and cannot begin to express our sorrow over his tragic loss,” Tolbert wrote.
She wrote the city could not make a payment to Jeffery because law prevents the city from using public funds to make gifts.
“These laws include a prohibition on payments to individuals that could be considered an unconstitutional gift under the Texas Constitution,” the letter stated.
Tolbert said DPD has assisted Jeffery in applying for three types of benefits available to family members of first responders who die in the line of duty.
“We will continue to recognize the ultimate sacrifice of Officer Darron Burks, and it is my hope that Ms. Jeffery be provided the most robust benefits available to her under state and federal law for the loss of her son who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the residents of Dallas,” Tolbert wrote.
The city declined to offer further comment. Jeffery could not be reached for comment. When reached for comment, a man who answered the phone listed as Sharpe’s law office number said he could not take a message and hung up on a WFAA reporter twice. Sharpe also did not reply to an email requesting comment.
The letter Sharpe wrote the city does not follow the format of a typical demand letter.
“Had Ms. Jeffery gone to other lawyers, they would have probably recommended that she file a suit against the city of Dallas,” Sharpe wrote. “I have advised her to stay out of the public eye to give the city of Dallas an opportunity to do something for her that would be a gesture of goodwill and bring some good publicity for the city.”
Sharpe said Jeffery would not file a lawsuit if the city did not provide a payment, but would agree to sign a release of any future claim against the city if it did “do something monetarily.”
The demand letter, which was considered by City Council in executive session on May 28, has a number of grammatical errors and misspells both the name of the city manager and Burks’ mother — the lawyer’s client.