Family Claims Dallas Police Shot Unarmed Black Man in the Back During Chase
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In photo Dallas Police minority outreach riot control. From [HERE] and [HERE] Police in riot gear held back an angry crowd in South Dallas for hours Tuesday after an officer fatally shot a suspect. Hundreds converged outside Dixon’s Grocery a block or two from where the dead man lay face down in a grassy lot. Rumors spread among the crowd that the man, identified by police as James Harper, had been unarmed and shot in the back by police while fleeing. Dallas Police Chief David Brown addressed the media Tuesday night after an officer involved shooting in Southeast Dallas left one man dead.
Brown said the police department received a 911 phone call around 5 p.m. stating that a man had been dragged into a house with his hands tied behind his back. Police later believed that phone call was bogus and that the call was possibly one drug family that was attempting to lure police to a drug house of another drug family in the neighborhood. Brown told reporters that three officers arrived on scene on the 5300 block of Bourquin Street to find four men inside the home attempting to “scurry” out of doors and windows. Brown said officers saw a handgun on a table in the house.
According to Brown, Ofc. Brian Rowden, an eight year veteran of the Dallas Police Department, pursued James Harper, 31, on foot. Police said the pursuit included fist fights and jumping over three fences. Brown said after the third fence, Rowden was barely hanging onto Harper and was fatigued when Harper said, “You are going to have to kill me." Brown said Rowden feared for his life, pulled his weapon and shot Harper, who then collapsed. While witnesses on scene believed Harper had been shot in the back, Brown said it appeared he had been shot in the stomach and hand. Officers did not find a gun on him. The Dallas County Medical Examiner will determine the final cause of death.
Police were able to capture one other suspect. Police were also able to find crack cocaine in the house and in the yard on the side of the home, according to Brown.
Brown told the media that investigators have not yet determined if officers were fired upon, but he believed Harper did not have a gun at the time of the shooting.
Brown said Harper had a long list of previous arrests and convictions including assault on a public servant, evading arrest and various drug charges.
Dallas police has now begun an internal investigation that will be turned over to the District Attorney’s Office where an independent grand jury will determine if Rowden was justified in firing his weapon. Brown said Harper had been placed on paid administrative leave and was resting.
Dallas police dispatched dozens of officers from seven substations to the scene to handle emotional crowds. Some officers were seen wearing full riot gear, some armed with automatic rifles, others with paintball guns filled with pepper spray.
