DALLAS — Days ahead of the fifth anniversary of a Dallas police officer’s death in the line of duty, his memory was honored during a City Council presentation Wednesday.
Officer Mitchell Penton was killed on Feb. 13, 2021, by a drunk driver who was later sentenced to 30 years in May 2023.
During the Feb. 11 Dallas City Council meeting, Quick Trip Corporation announced a $509,581 donation to fund the purchase of four new blocker trucks for the Dallas Police Department.
“The new Ford F550 units will be deployed to block traffic at crashes and incidents on freeways and major thoroughfares where first responders are working in the roadway,” the City of Dallas said. “Each truck is equipped with an LED arrow board and a crash attenuator, a device attached to the rear of the truck to absorb the impact of a crash, protecting the emergency personnel at the scene. Nationwide, blocker trucks have become a common method of protecting people and equipment at crashes, construction sites, and closures on freeways and busy streets.”
Penton’s family, including his mother Kathy Penton, sat tearfully in the audience. She has been vocal about the need for better road safety protections while coping with her son’s loss.
“Nothing is the same,” Kathy Penton told NBC 5 in 2022. “I’m not the same person…You keep waiting and looking at the door, and realize that he’s not coming back.”
The City of Dallas first implemented blocker trucks in 2023 in response to Officer Penton’s death. Since then, the trucks have been deployed more than 1,200 times, with five trucks directly struck in incidents, preventing injuries or fatalities. The city said the presence of blocker trucks has also reduced emergency response times by 18% in high-risk freeway zones.