Screenshot of Dallas Municipal Archives video.
There has been a lot of talk about closing and limiting access to White Rock Lake.
On Sunday, White Rock Lake staff from the Dallas Park and Recreation Department closed lake access points to vehicle traffic. Barricades are set up at each entry with staff monitoring each location, Parking enforcement units are also working with park rangers to clear vehicles from unauthorized parking spaces. Officers will issue citation warnings first. A violation citation will be issued if vehicles aren’t moved within one hour. Two hours after a violation citation, vehicles will be towed.
All of this commotion around our beautiful lake reminded us of the White Rock Lake riot of 1977.
The day culminated in 49 arrests, countless injuries (to both hippie and cop) and at least three hospitalizations, including that of Sgt. Kenneth Heard, who arrived on the scene as the fracas gained steam and “shot his service revolver into the air in an attempt to break up the crowd,” according to the DMN story. “Dozens of young persons were grabbed by police, wrestled to the ground, handcuffed and lined up in the grass, face down.”
Read more about a previous article we wrote about the riot here.