Final candidate for police chief: from Dallas to social media & back to the force
Daniel Carolla, the current US Manager of the Meta Law Enforcement Response Team, is eager to hang up his business suit, leave the private sector behind and return to his passion, public service.
Daniel Carolla knew that Texas was to be his true home when he left Minneapolis at the age of 22 with only $70 in his pocket. Carolla subsequently got his start with the Dallas Police Department in 1999 and served for over 22 years in law enforcement. He started out as a patrol officer, then shifted gears into training new police recruits.
From there, Carolla moved on to community relations, where he eventually became the Community Engagement Unit Commander, which he credits with preparing him for the tough job of police chief.
As the community engagement commander, he led a mixed team of civil, administrative and criminal divisions to "tackle complex community problems." That fateful job gave him the leadership bug and the desire to "help make people's lives better" by doing so.
He faithfully served that department for 18 years, to the day, until he realized that he was ready for more. That was a pivotal point in his career as Carolla went on to become the Lake Dallas Chief of Police. He dutifully served in that position until retirement just 4 and a half years later.
It was at that time that Carolla decided to satisfy a curiosity of the private sector. He first worked for Carvana in their safe and secure program for multiple states across the U.S.
From there, he moved into social media and its relation to law enforcement by joining Meta. Here, Carolla currently serves as the U.S. manager for the Meta Law Enforcement Team, covering everything from Facebook to Instagram to WhatsApp.
Carolla's role at Meta is to "lead the teams that analyze and process every criminal records request that comes in from of law enforcement at all levels, nationwide." That position has allowed him to stay abreast of local and national current events, while partnering "with law enforcement at all levels nationwide."
But, Carolla says the time has come to hang his private sector hat and get back to his real passion of public safety. He has a "heart for public service" and wants to enrich the lives of others. He hopes to make Abilene his last stop and work here for the next 10 or so years before his secondary retirement.
If chosen, Carolla hopes to first examine the health and well-being of the current Abilene police force. In a turn from big changes to policy and management, he instead wants to put mental health first, to include the mental health of the civilian side as well. His hope is to ensure that the team has a strong emotional security so that they will be able to better serve the community of Abilene.
He wants to accomplish this by establishing a new position within the department. Carolla hopes to hire an official police psychologist, one embedded locally within the community, who could provide services to the force to ensure that the team has the coping skills to perform the job to the best of their ability.
His secondary goal is to build community trust so that the department can effectively police in the modern age. Here, Carolla referenced George Floyd, and how the trust and relationship he built between Lake Dallas and their police department allowed their city to go without riots or protests during that emotional time. Lake Dallas citizens "almost felt bad for us," Carolla remembered and as a result provided extra community support during that time.
Carolla is confident in his leadership skills and ability to meet the needs of the team so they can in turn meet the needs of this community. He wants to bring his transparency to the role, advocating for the quick release of dash or body camera footage, in addition to his strong moral ethics in guiding "contemporary policing practices." Carolla hopes to truly call Abilene his forever home.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: From social media & back to the force: Texas' potential police chief
