Talk:David Brown (police officer)

Move to better name

This page already has some better titles as redirects, I suggest to move it to an unambiguous title without parentheses (carreer has changed and will again). Please vote or comment:

• 1. David O'Neal Brown
• 2. David O. Brown (official biography name)
• David Brown (police chief)
• David Brown (Police Chief of Dallas)
• keep it at David Brown (police officer)

Please also keep David Brown (disambiguation) in mind. Thank you :) --SI 15:04, 9 July 2016 (UTC)

• David O. Brown is how he is known at his personal page at Dallas PD. so the article name (w/o job title) might be either that, or kept as David Brown, as he is known to the public as david brown. He may change careers, but we can change his article name at that time, so i would prefer David Brown (police chief) or David O. Brown (police chief) over current.Mercurywoodrose (talk) 18:28, 9 July 2016 (UTC)
• Do we know of any of the other people at David Brown (disambiguation) whose middle initial is O? I could go through them all myself, but I figured I'd ask if anyone's already caught one. I think CNN has been captioning this person as "David O. Brown" when he's on the air also. --Closeapple (talk) 02:32, 10 July 2016 (UTC)

@Closeapple: I couldn't find any, esp. also not by googling for "David O. Brown" - no other persons at all. --SI 21:01, 14 July 2016 (UTC)

• Unless we've closed discussion, I'd like to suggest the term "law enforcement" or "law enforcement official" following his name with the middle initial, as reflected in his official bio. Or I could also accept "police chief" as suggested above. But a police chief is substantially more than a "police officer." That would be like calling a four star general a "private." Perhaps it's also useful to review the lead for Edward A. Flynn. Also note the extensive disambig of Edward Flynn. X4n6 (talk) 08:17, 16 July 2016 (UTC)

Returning to this (and of course I see that some time has passed) - I see that there is at least one other "David O." at the disambig page, David Owen Brown. So, I am going to point "David O. Brown" to the disambig page now. Thanks to all for their contributions. KConWiki (talk) 18:25, 17 April 2022 (UTC)

Brown relationship to robot explosive

76.127.136.195 (talk · contribs) has added a claim in the introduction that David O. Brown himself "pioneered" or "ordered the first" or "authorized the first" "domestic use of a remote controlled robot" to kill a "violent suspect", and re-added it with some words changed after I removed it. This is a WP:BLP issue, and requires one to twice jump to conclusions not in the source: (1) that this is, as a matter of fact, the first time a "domestic" robot explosive has been used to kill a "violent suspect", or that it is, as a matter of fact, the first time "known"; (2) that David O. Brown specifically is the one who caused it or decided to do it. In particular:

• The web page used as a source ([3]) is provably not a reliable source, at least for the video: The video still says there were 2 snipers. Also, it appears the video is created by ABC News, but the text below it is attributed to writers for the Associated Press. So the web page isn't even internally coherent. And, regardless, the video doesn't match the claims: It says "police" detonated a remote-controlled device and says nothing about Brown giving an order or it being the first time.
• The text article (which I guess is AP) doesn't take the position that it must be the first time this has happened; it says "While there doesn't appear to be any hard data on the subject, security experts and law enforcement officials said they couldn't recall another time when police have deployed a robot with lethal intent." This is not only subject to what people start claiming "domestic" and "known" mean, but "known" in the context of only being 3 days old, which is arguably not enough time to find out if it's really "known" or just hasn't been researched enough in 3 days.
• The text does not say that Brown was the one who ordered the robot explosive; it states that Brown "defended his department's decision" and said "We saw no other option but to use our bomb robot"; and states that the mayor "applauded Brown for making 'the right call'". The mayor's comment was at the same press conference as Brown's; it did not specify whether Brown's "right call" was to decide on the robot bomb himself, or to defend the decision that his officers made. I believe I was watching TV live when this press conference happened early in the morning; I also don't recall the chief or the mayor saying that the chief was the one that gave the order.

Also, a secondary issue, perhaps: This shouldn't be in the intro anyway; it's not what David O. Brown is famous for. He might become famous for being the chief during the shooting, but even if he did give the order, there's currently no evidence that his fame is based on having pioneered it. --Closeapple (talk) 02:21, 10 July 2016 (UTC)

I have no interest in playing your edgelord games, so you win if rendering this site less relevant is a win. Believe it or not, ordering the first extrajudicial killing of a US citizen in the US by a remote control robot (aka Drone) will likely be Chief Brown's main claim to fame. Only the President has the authority to order this overseas and only in "extraordinary circumstances". Also, the robot's manufacturer uses the term "terminate" not "kill" in regards to these robot's adaptable mission objectives. But you would rather dominate "your" playground than allow a historic decision by the Police Chief to be noted here. Well anyway, thanks for the explanation and 'hasta la vista, baby'. 76.127.136.195 (talk) 04:10, 10 July 2016 (UTC)

Closeapple is right. There is too much uncertainty in that article regarding whether it was the first use of a robot to kill a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil, and the actual role Brown had in implementing that decision. Biographies of living people must be reasonably accurate because of defamation laws and encyclopedias require more certainty than this news article gives. The use of the robot can be mentioned when notable sources say with certainty Brown's role and its historical impact. Waters.Justin (talk) 15:24, 10 July 2016 (UTC)

""When we got out at Parkland the chief told me, 'OK, I've made the decision that we're going to blow this guy up,'" (Dallas Mayor) Rawlings said Saturday." Please feel free to apologize and restore the text anytime, anywhere you feel appropriate if you have any interest in the truth rather than petty editorial closemind-edness. 76.127.136.195 (talk) 17:03, 10 July 2016 (UTC)

Wikipedia is kind of a democracy of editors, so it serves your interest to lobby for your perspective without insulting other editors. What you call petty editorial close-mindedness are Wikipedia rules. Insulting the rules will not help your case. Try instead to memorize the rules and argue why your edits are within Wikipedia's editorial guidelines. Another thing is just be patient, this is breaking news so it may take a few days before a full story can be developed on Brown's role of implementing the bomb and its historical implications. I think that is a good quote you provided. Waters.Justin (talk) 19:19, 10 July 2016 (UTC)

References

Making the police department and public safer a

Mr. Brown I have created a device THAT will POTENTIALLY help to keep our police officers as well as the community they serve much safer..... Arthur Mack Jr Amack1021 (talk) 11:43, 12 May 2018 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion:

• CPD Superintendent David O'Neal Brown.jpg

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 08:57, 3 November 2020 (UTC)

Why are his glasses tinted?

Why are his glasses tinted? 2601:240:C880:A050:6298:2828:EF2F:56A7 (talk) 01:31, 12 August 2022 (UTC)