Dallas Police continue to call on the city council to force strip clubs to close at 2 a.m. in an effort to curb crime.
This comes after a security guard fatally shot someone who fired a gun during a fight outside a northwest Dallas strip club early Wednesday morning.
During a city council briefing on Wednesday, Police Chief Eddie Garcia said just after 5 a.m., a fight happened inside but multiple other fights took place outside after security kicked the patrons out of the club.
One person took out a gun and fired it into the air. Then, Garcia says, another man in the parking lot pulled out his gun in response, and the first person fired toward him.
A security guard then fatally shot the first person.
In November, Dallas Police first asked the city council to change the hours strip clubs can be open. Currently, Dallas has no rules for when sexually oriented businesses can operate, and closing times for strip clubs can range from 2 to 6 a.m.
Police said they believe the new hours would help curb crime in and around strip clubs.
"We are truly stretched too thin and we do too much which is exactly why we need this," Garcia said. "We're often asked by council what more we need, this is that prime example for what we need to further reduce violent crime in our city."
The council had started a task force to study the issue but Mayor Eric Johnson says they don't have time to wait for those results.
"It's a tool that the police department has asked for and I think that they need it as soon as we can get it to them if we think it's a good idea," Johnson said. "If we agree that it's a good idea for them to have it, I would rather them have it sooner than later."
The council will vote on the implementation next week.
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