Dallas Police Tie 7-Year Record In Suspect Deaths
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - This year has proven to be one of the most deadly for Dallas police in their confrontations with criminal suspects, according to records obtained only by CBS 11 News.
The shooting death of 31-year-old James Harper on Tuesday marked the seventh time this year that DPD officers have shot and killed a suspect – with five months left in the year, the records show.
That figure stands out compared to all of last year, when Dallas police shot and killed one suspect in a confrontation.
In fact, the current death toll ties a seven-year record, reaching back to 2006, the records show.
DPD officers shot and killed a total of seven suspects in both 2007 and in 2010 – the same number already reach this year, according to records obtained by Dallas police after CBS 11 filed a request through the Texas Open Records Act.
Those records also show the following statistics:
- One suspect shooting fatality in both 2006 and 2010;
- And four suspect shooting fatalities in 2008 and in 2009.
Officials are trying to explain the sudden increase in violence in Dallas, as police, civil rights leaders and city officials attempt to ease tensions following this week's shooting in the southside neighborhood known as Dixon Circle.
Dallas Police Chief David Brown told CBS 11 News in June, following the sixth fatal shooting of a suspect, that his officers have been met with more violence this year. Brown emphasized, however, that his officers are not overreacting.
"We are as trained as other police agencies. I think we're more likely to show as much patience as we can for suspects," the chief said at the time.
He added, however, "we don't want to talk to police widows" about why their husbands may have "hesitated" in turning to deadly force.
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