PD: Dozens Of Shots Fired At Chase Suspect, Officer On Leave
NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - It was an early morning August 31 police chase that ended with the shooting death of a 25-year-old man. New details of the chase reveal dozens of shots fired at the suspect and has led to a Garland police officer being placed on leave.
Those reports were quickly contradicted by the dashcam video captured by the officer's cruiser. The video hasn't been released but investigators say the tape revealed that Allen did not ram the Garland officer's vehicle. In fact, investigators say it was the responding officer who rammed Allen then opened fire on the vehicle.
Examination of the case further indicates that a lone Garland police officer, whose name has not been released, may have fired as many as 41 rounds at Allen -- with no other officers at the scene discharging their weapons.
"We're not in the officer's mind. And we don't know all the thoughts that were in his mind and what caused him to start shooting and shoot so many times," Garland police spokesman Joe Harn explained. "It is a concern of ours. The investigation is ongoing [and] we hope to get to the bottom of it, so we can explain everything that happened."
The incident began just after Midnight on August 31 as Garland police attempted to make a traffic stop. Officers soon learned the white GMC pickup they were pursuing was the same one involved in a chase with Sachse police earlier that same week.
The chase lasted nearly half an hour, involved several police agencies and reached speeds up to 100 miles per hour. The pursuit ended when Allen got caged in on a cul-de-sac in a Mesquite residential area. It was there Allen was shot and killed.
Allen did have an extensive arrest record including previous charges for narcotics violations, assault and for fleeing police.
Initially the officer was placed on routine administrative leave for being involved in a deadly-force incident. Now that same officer, a seven-year veteran of the patrol division, is on extended administrative leave pending the outcome of the criminal and administrative investigations.
The officer is also on restricted-duty, forbidding him from acting in any law enforcement capacity, and has had all of his city-owned weapons returned to Garland police.
Officially since the chase ended in Mesquite the department there is conducting the criminal investigation and will submit their findings to the Dallas County District Attorney's Office and the Dallas County Grand Jury.
The administrative investigation is being conducted by Garland police.
