When there's crime, I blame the criminal.
But Dallas politicians blamed a business.
Dale Davenport owned Jim's Car Wash. But five years ago, after a shooting at the property, the city ordered him to shut it down.
Why did they target his car wash?
When I first investigated this story, Davenport told me he was a "model citizen," doing everything local politicians asked of him:
"They said build a 6-foot fence. I built an 8-foot fence. Then they said, put up signs. I already had signs up, so I put up more signs. Then they told me to put up lights. I already had lights up, so I put up more lights."
That didn't stop the city from closing him down.
"Murdered my business, is what the city of Dallas has done," says Davenport.
Many cities have policies that allow them to close a business if the owner conceals crime. But Davenport didn't conceal anything. He did the opposite -- when he saw crime, he called 911.
The politicians then used his 911 calls as evidence against him.
"They said (I'm) a public nuisance ... this is absolutely crazy."
It is. By closing his car wash, the community lost a neighborhood hub. Local residents called it a "good place for the community."
People would visit local businesses while waiting for their cars to be washed.
"Businesses next to my car wash, their business is down 40-50%," says Davenport.
Why, in a high-crime neighborhood, did politicians go after just one business where the owner did everything politicians requested?
Probably because some Dallas politicians are corrupt.
After they told Davenport to hire security guards, "they told me, you've hired the wrong guard company," says Davenport.
"A city councilman had an armed guard company that they wanted me to tender my business to."
That councilman was James Fantroy. He was later convicted of stealing $20,000 from a college.
"Look at the corruption," says Davenport. "Look how many city councilmen have gone to jail."
My video replays local news reports: "Former Dallas city council and Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway is just the latest now in a long list of public officials who have been jailed over the years ... Paul Fielding ... Dallas councilman convicted for conspiracy and fraud ... There's Don Hill. His payments from a housing developer ... sent both of them to prison."
If Dallas politicians want to reduce crime, it seems like they should shut down the city council.
Instead, they shut Davenport's business. Did it work? Has crime gone down?
No.
Today, five years later, the neighborhood has the highest violent crime rate in the city.
Davenport showed us what his old neighborhood looks like now.
There's a homeless camp just across from where his car wash once was.
Surprisingly, just a couple miles away, a new car wash is opening.
Why do they get to open, but Jim's can't?
Because Dallas politicians don't like him.
"I know right from wrong," says Davenport. "This is wrong."
Texas has now passed a law that says if cities do shut a business, they must pay the owner a sum equal to his losses.
That would be good. Compensating owners is only fair.
But here's a better idea:
Stop electing corrupt politicians, and don't let them shut businesses in the first place.
Every Tuesday at JohnStossel.com, Stossel posts a new video about the battle between government and freedom. He is the author of "Government Gone Wild: Exposing the Truth Behind the Headlines."
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