Out of evil, make good

Let’s create permanent honor for officer Darron Burks

By Norma Adams-Wade

For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down,
That it will sprout again, And that the tender branch
thereof will not cease.
…yet …it will bud,
and…bring forth boughs like a plant.
Job 14:7, 9 KJV

The “premeditated execution” — as Dallas police chief Eddie Garcia termed it — is one of the one million times when your soul asks… “Why?!”

If you are a pragmatist who does not believe in evil, this travesty surely has to make you reconsider.

By now — out of the tsunami of media coverage — you surely know that Dallas police officer Darron Lee Burks, 46, was fatally shot Aug. 29 while taking a break between assignments, sitting in his marked patrol car, in the parking lot of the nonprofit For Oak Cliff. The building on Led-better Drive previously was the longtime location of Moorland Branch YMCA before the Y moved to its current location on Hampton Road in Oak Cliff.

The on-duty death of any police officer is prime time news. However, Burks’ demise has an added quality because of how the community has almost lionized him for his admirable character and public service.

The 17-year former math teacher at Texans Can Academies in Dallas was a graduate of Lake Highland H. S. in Richardson and Paul Quinn College in southeast Dallas who stood out as a moral role model, sports figure, and leader in areas including being president of his Omega Psi Phi fraternity chapter.

He was a member of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship and served in the parking ministry.

Two other officers dispatched to aid him also were injured. One, Sr. Cpl. Jamie Farmer has been released from the hospital. The other, Cpl. Karissa David, at last report still was in critical but stable condition and is expected to recover.

The suspect, Corey Cobb- Bey, 30, was fatally shot by police after he led them on a 30-minute car chase, stopped the car in Lewisville, then approached the officers pointing a long-gun at them before police fired fatal shots at him, police reports state. Officials on different levels of government are investigating Officer Burks’ death that so far still is seen as a senseless murder of a good man by an apparently misguided stranger. No evidence has turned up that the two men knew each other.

An avalanche of praise for Officer Burks’ good character and public service continues days after his death and likely will continue through his funeral service Saturday, September 7. And by the time you read this report, many more details likely will have surfaced.

I was just thinking….the impressive, positive feed- back about Officer Burks further prompts the question of why such a meritorious humanitarian would be cut down in such a pointless way. Again, “Why?!” It’s an answer too beyond our human pay grade to figure that one out. But, … let’s resolve to help his life have meaning. Let’s help influence others to live with tangible, meaningful purpose as was his goal — cut short too soon.

So, how to make that goal happen for the sake of this martyr? And yes, Burks has become a martyr who died because he chose to serve others through upholding law enforcement to keep the community safe.

Those who knew him say he felt his choice was a calling, and, yes, that calling led to his untimely demise. It seems clear that his decision deserves hoor. Our question is how to best fulfill that honor. See suggestions in the attached two sidebars.

The first attachment suggests tangible ways to give meaning to Officer Burks’ sacrifice. The second chronicles comments various people made about his stellar life. I request that you store this report in an important place and use it to help you recall Burks’ impact and perhaps to guide your own.

Suggested ways to immortalize Officer Darron Burks’ sacrifice of his life

By the time you read this report, some of these suggestions may already be in planning or in someone’s mind. But let’s consider the following:

1. You may have other thoughts. Put them into action so that Officer Burks’ life goals will not have been erased by his untimely death.
2. A plaque in front of the For Oak Cliff building, similar to a state historical marker of sorts. The plaque would detail how numerous individuals described Officer Burks as a genuine good man who made a career choice based on what he felt was a calling to better serve his community. That “calling” led to his demise.
3. As with the 2018 wrongful death of Botham Jean in Dallas, name a significant street after Officer Burks.
4. Change the name of the For Oak Cliff building to “Officer Darron Burks For Oak Cliff” and affix a marker into the wall of the building explaining who Burks was and why the building is named for him.
5. The nonprofit For Oak Cliff, headed by CEO Taylor Toynes, could establish an annual scholar- ship and program in Officer Burks’ honor. The scholarships would aid students planning careers in various fields, not just law enforcement. Various leaders and police officers would speak at the related scholarship program. Dr. Stephanie Boyce, interviewed on a WFAA-TV morning talk show over the Labor Day weekend, said she already has set up a scholarship in Burks honor through the Fresh Classroom Program that aids students seeking education careers. Email her at sboyce@thefreshclass.com.
6. Someone write a book about Officer Burks’ life and the proceeds support For Oak Cliff operating programs.
7. Of course, Burks will be added to the Dallas Police Department’s Wall of Honor along with the other two officers in some way.
8. Omega Psi Phi frat brothers do some kind of annual or one-time permanent memorial event/fundraiser in Officer Burks’ honor and the proceeds would benefit community service.
9. Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, where Officer Burks was a member of the parking lot ministry, hold a special event in his honor and get sponsors to support a resulting service project.
10. Dallas Police officers visit local schools and talk about Burks’ life and the positive things he wanted for the future of today’s youth.
11. The individual Kevin Samuels already has established a gofundme.com site to help Burks’ family.

Memorable comments from media reports about Officer Burks.

FROM OFFICIALS

1. Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia: “We are devastated. We lost a brother, a hero… tragically murdered in the line of duty….Officer Burks was executed” just for being a policeman.
2. Mayor Eric Johnson: “Dallas has lost a hero.”
3. Dallas Police spokeswoman Kristin Lowman: “Our department is hurting.”
4. Dallas Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert: “We cannot take for granted how…courageous our first responders are…”
5. Sen. Royce West told the crowd at an Officer Burks’ memorial they should: “show the same resolve we showed with George Floyd’s death.” .
6. Dallas City Council member Carolyn King Arnold: “…no words can describe (this). …It leaves you speechless.”
7. U. S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who was a personal friend of Officer Burks, described him as “a funny, salt-of-the-earth, kind soul” who “selflessly” chose a career that ended his life. “…This epidemic of gun violence must end.”
8. Taylor Toynes, CEO of the nonprofit For Oak Cliff where Officer Burks was killed while on break in his marked police car in the parking lot: “My heart is broken… What we can do is let this officer’s spirit live through the work we do and the service we provide.”
9. Froswa Booker-Drew, For Oak Cliff board co-chair: “This is a violation of the vision of that community and the work they have done there.”

FROM FRIENDS AND ASSOCIATES AS REPORTED BY MEDIA

1. Ken Johnson, Lake Highland H. S. classmate and Burks Paul Quinn College room- mate: Darron was always about service…He was just a leader. Everybody flocked to him…Darron…did everything by the book, did it the right way… Never drank, never smoked… We all strived to be like him.”
2. Friend and fellow officer Nikki Andrews said, when Burks inquired about becoming an officer, she asked him, “Did you ask God?” She said he answered, “Yes. This is my calling.”
3. Cpl. Maurice Addison, who trained Burks at the police academy, said he saw in Burks “extreme leadership skills.” He added, “There’s something that says there’s just a few good men left. Officer Burks is one of them.”
4. Billy Walker, former Paul Quinn football teammate, said of Officer Burks: “You couldn’t find a flaw.”
5. Apryl Washington Goree, friend from Paul Quinn College and Officer Burks’ education co-worker: “He wanted to help the community versus the classroom. …on a broader spectrum.”
6. Frat brother Keio Gamble: “He’s the only person I know that did everything right.”
7. Kirstin Dodd Baum knew Burks when they both were associated with Boy Scouts of America. She said Burks encouraged her in several dark moments in her life with his inspiring admonition to her, “You can do hard things.”
8. Raja Muhammad, co-worker at Texans Can Academies, said everyone who knew Burks recognized his pure character and ability to enjoy just clean fun. “Everyone knew he wasn’t going to…drink…(and) wasn’t going to…smoke (but still)..have a good time. …There’s a collective heartbreak in the city of Dallas right now.”
9. Jasmine Clewis, former student at Texans Can Academies: “I feel like I took away not just skills from his classroom, but a way to carry myself…the rest of my life.”
10. Texans Can Academies student Alejandro Rios: “He would teach us not only algebra, but life lessons as well.”
11. Robert West, co-member of OCBF parking ministry with Burks: “He was kind of like my light every time I came to church.”

Norma Adams-Wade, is a proud Dallas native, University of Texas at Austin journalism graduate and retired Dallas Morning News senior staff writer. She is a founder of the National Association of of Black Journalists and was its first southwest regional director. She became The News’ first Black full-time reporter in 1974. norma_ adams_wade@yahoo.com.