West El Paso residents express concerns about DPS pursuits at townhall meeting

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Dozens of west El Paso residents gathered at Canutillo ISD Central office Tuesday to express their concerns on the rise of DPS pursuits in their community.

District Attorney Bill Hicks was joined by DPS Regional Director Joe Sanchez in answering questions from community members.

"We didn't have this whole epidemic i'm gonna call it, of pursuits and people injured, people dying in some cases, up until DPS got involved in this," said Eduardo Solis, El Paso resident.

Another resident and ex-law enforcement officer, Deion Dorado, shared his own experience and said he was almost hit during a chase involving DPS in his community.

"The other fellow and myself almost got run over because of that particular chase," he said. "I know chases are necessary, I did plenty of them. But I also considered who is out there and if my chase was worth it."

DPS Regional Director Joe Sanchez said the purpose of this event was to hear concerns from the public and remind them it is a community effort.

​​​​​​​"Thats why I wanted to come out here and address that so they understand that this is a problem.," he said. "We all have to work together as a community to put a stop to this. So if you know somebody that's getting recruited, if you have a family member that's being involved in smuggling. If you're down the street and you know there's a stash house in your location, you need to report it."