We aren’t suggesting that all cops should be placed in indefinite time-outs. But certain officers — like the Dallas cop suspended in July for creating a “racist” commemorative coin — would probably do well to take a bit of a breather for self-reflection and to think about how their behavior is just a bad look for their departments.
Here are six recent times that Dallas-area law enforcement was caught behaving badly.
Dallas Police Laugh at Disabled Veteran
Bodycam footage went viral last week showing Dallas police officers cackling like hyenas upon learning that a disabled veteran was made to soil himself.The local veteran, Dynell Lane, told the city’s police oversight board earlier this month that employees at Serious Pizza refused to let him use the restroom in June. Two off-duty cops in uniform, who were working security there, wouldn’t look at his medical paperwork either, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Lane reportedly called 911 but left the restaurant because of his urinary and bowel issues before two on-duty cops arrived.
“So you guys made a guy pee himself?” one of the officers gleefully asks in the bodycam video. “He called 911 on us?” another says before doubling over with laughter.
Lane said his lower extremities were operated on because of wounds sustained during his deployment.
“My life has changed, drastically changed, and has been a constant fight having to explain myself about my disability just to get assistance,” Lane told the oversight office, according to The News. “This battle leaves me in a constant depression and suicidal at times because of the shame of asking strangers for help while in public.”
A group of Dallas police officers caught on camera at Serious Pizza in Dallas TX, laughing at a disabled military veteran after he was denied use of the restaurant restroom and due to his disability he soiled himself. pic.twitter.com/XrsUMbO099
— 🥀_ Imposter 🥀 (@Imposter_Edits) August 18, 2023
Southlake Cops Fired for Swastika Drawing
In late July, Southlake Police Department’s chief announced the firing of two officers who, during a break in a meeting, had drawn a swastika. They also shared the picture with others. The chief’s decision was commended by the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum and the regional director of the American Jewish Committee Dallas, according to the Texas Jewish Post.
Frisco Police Terrorize Black Arkansas Family
In a case of mistaken vehicular identity, Frisco police pulled over a Black family from Arkansas, FOX 4 reported earlier this month. The Heard family was headed to a basketball tournament, and cops held them at gunpoint on the Dallas North Tollway."If you reach in that car, you may get shot," one officer reportedly told them.
Police wrongly believed that the Heards’ car was stolen, according to that outlet. Rather than looking up a license plate using “AR” for Arkansas, an officer had submitted “AZ” for Arizona.
The family’s 13-year-old son was also placed in handcuffs before police realized their error.
Dallas Couple Falsely Accused of Murder Sues Detective
A Dallas couple is suing a detective whose investigation wrongfully put them behind bars over Christmas on a murder charge. WFAA reported earlier this month that Basilio Tovar and Rubi Esparza have filed suit in a federal court in Dallas.The couple says that “misleading” information led to their incarceration over the killing of a 29-year-old man whom Tovar’s sister was dating. Police later admitted that the couple had not committed the homicide, writing in a statement, “Detectives … had probable cause the suspects were involved in the murder.”
Tovar and Esparza are seeking punitive damages and allege that their constitutional rights were violated.
Dallas County Sheriff Department Lieutenant Arrested for DWI
A top employee with the Dallas County Sheriff Department was put on leave after Big D police arrested him for drunk driving, according to The Dallas Morning News. The lieutenant reportedly hit a concrete barrier with his truck at an LBJ Freeway intersection, and responding officers noted that he reeked of alcohol.
Man Accuses Duncanville Police of Causing ‘Severe Spinal Injuries’
A 21-year-old man from Duncanville is calling for the release of bodycam footage after police there allegedly severely injured his spine, according to NBC-DFW. Keandre Green was discharged from the hospital last week.Green told reporters that he’d been jogging when he stopped in an alley to urinate. A woman then called police.
According to that article, Green said, “The only thing I do remember is my face being planted in the ground with my back in excruciating pain.”
