The Dallas Police Department received a $1.6 million donation from QuikTrip Wednesday for new reality-based training structures at the current Red Bird police academy amid ongoing plans to build a new academy and public safety complex.
About $1 million of the donation will go to the purchase of updated reality-based training pods, with an additional $631,375 cash donation to the police department.
Reality-based training uses real-life scenarios to prepare officers for high-stress situations.
“I want to … thank QuikTrip for this incredible donation to the city of Dallas and to the Dallas Police Department,” said City Council member Gay Donnell Willis. “Having the officers trained in the most realistic scenario that they can be in and to help us along with that is really remarkable.”
The reality-based training structures will replace older buildings at the current police academy at Red Bird, city spokesperson Richard Ericson said in an email. The dilapidated Red Bird police academy has prompted plans for a state-of-the-art facility. Mold and sweat, weathered training rooms, insufficient storage and limited parking have made the facility a pain point for DPD.
The donation was routed through the Dallas Police Association because of bureaucratic roadblocks, council member Cara Mendelsohn said Wednesday. She met in February with QuikTrip executives, who were considering pulling the donation, she said.
“But City Manager, I have to ask you to please investigate why a corporate citizen like QuikTrip who wants to do so much good for our city would have to get to the point of pulling back over a million and a half dollars that we desperately need because we’ve made it difficult for them,” Mendelsohn said.
QuikTrip, a convenience store chain, donated $7 million to Metro Atlanta nonprofits focused on public safety in December 2023.
Earlier this month, the Dallas City Council unanimously approved a 20-acre lease with the University of North Texas at Dallas to build a basic police academy to train recruits. It is expected to break ground in 2026.
The City Council did not discuss the UNT Dallas campus or the undecided location for the public safety complex Wednesday. The new structures will eventually be moved to the public safety site, Ericson said in an email.