Dallas police overtime costs topped $6 million for World Cup, records show

For nearly two months this summer, Dallas hosted the world and police worked around the clock. Officers provided security at a fan festival at Dallas Fair Park and the tournament s international broadcast center, and they operated motorcades, escorting team buses and visiting dignitaries. Now comes the bill. Through open records requests, NBC 5 Investigates obtained Dallas police overtime records showing that during the two World Cup months, the department spent a total of more than $14 million on overtime. The records show that s about $6.6 million more than the same months last year. When NBC 5 Investigates questioned the department about those totals, a spokesman confirmed that about $6.1 million of that total was for World Cup related overtime. A Dallas Police spokesman confirmed that about $6.1 million of the total overtime spending was for World Cup related overtime. City records obtained by NBC 5 Investigates suggest the motorcades were the biggest overtime expense. A spreadsheet shows the department s traffic unit, which runs motorcycle escorts, racked up more than $1.1 million in overtime in June and July combined, more than any other police unit. The Dallas SWAT team came in a close second. That unit, often tasked with security and dignitary protection duties, also earned a little more than $1 million in overtime in June and July. But records obtained by NBC 5 Investigates also show just how dramatically the department slashed overtime spending once the last World Cup goal was scored. The records show DPD spent only about $2.4 million on overtime in the first 25 days of August. That s less than half of what the records say the department spent on overtime in August of 2025. Dallas Police overtime Dallas Sep 22 Comeaux outlines first of its kind approach to tackle Dallas Police overtime, overspending Dallas Sep 9 Could cutting Dallas Police overtime cost taxpayers more? As NBC 5 Investigates previously reported, Dallas police Chief Daniel Comeaux said in August that he directed supervisors to scrutinize overtime spending as the department worked to close a budget gap, under pressure from City Hall. That came after the department said it overspent its overtime budget by almost $3 million in the last year. We re gonna really look at overtime and be financially responsible, Comeaux said at the time in an interview with NBC 5 Investigates. Dallas Police told NBC 5 Investigates the department expects Dallas taxpayers will be paid back for World Cup overtime through a federal program for host cities. But the North Central Texas Council of Governments tells NBC 5 Investigates it s a complex reimbursement process that takes time. The agency is helping local departments submit for reimbursement. On top of that, there are still questions about reimbursement for the Republican midterm convention held downtown in September. Dallas police tell NBC 5 Investigates that overtime bill topped $500,000. There was no guarantee the city would be paid back for the convention, and the department told NBC 5 Investigates it has no additional information on that right now.