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Police chief outlines staffing gains, training and major investigations including JT Lounge shooting
Summary
Police Chief Beresen said the department has three sworn vacancies, expanded training programs and recently responded to a mass‑casualty shooting that produced seven gunshot victims; he credited detectives for work on cases tied to the Texas 'killing fields' and said investigations are ongoing.
Police Chief Beresen updated the council on staffing, training and several ongoing investigations, including an aggravated shooting at JT Lounge that produced seven gunshot victims and arrests connected to other serious crimes.
"We currently have 3 vacancies," the chief said, and detailed recruitment efforts, training investments such as the Law Enforcement Command Officer Program and FBI‑area leadership courses, and the department’s use of seized funds for training and equipment. He credited Detective Fidencio Gonzales for work linking local evidence to larger investigations and said Dickinson officers are coordinating with Galveston County task forces and federal partners on complex cases.
On the JT Lounge shooting, the chief said an arrest warrant has been issued and executed for at least one person believed responsible for the casualties, and investigators are pursuing at least one additional suspect because multiple calibers were found at the scene. He also noted progress on a substantial jewelry burglary and an aggravated robbery at a local convenience store and said the department will prepare a public video showing first‑responder performance during a recent chaotic scene.
