DPD Doesn’t Render Aid

Two officers are on leave after video shows they failed to render aid to an accident victim whose crash they may have caused.

Sr. Cpl. Leonard Anderson and Officer Darrien Robertson are both on leave, but per Chief Eddie Garcia will not be charged with failure to stop and render aid.

On May 13, 2022, two officers observed a car leaving a gas station without its lights on.

They began a pursuit with lights and sirens, but broke off when the suspect began to evade police. Dallas Police has a policy stating unless the suspect is wanted for a felony or in the process of a felony they will not pursue for safety reasons.

Dash camera footage from the police car clearly shows that the vehicle the officers had been chasing along Martin Luther King Boulevard could be seen jumping a curb and crashing. It did so after the police car turned off its lights.

The suspect vehicle nearly hit a pedestrian after proceeding through a stop sign at a high rate of speed. He then lost control of his vehicle and his vehicle was engulfed in flames. Local bystanders removed the man from his vehicle.

Dallas Fire Rescue performed CPR on the man for an unknown period of time.

DPD Doesn’t Render Aid – No Charges

Garcia said he is appalled and embarrassed by the incident.

“I’m embarrassed for the men and women of this department,” Garcia said. “This is not what we stand for.”

Garcia told local media he’s “appalled that his officers left the scene without checking on the driver first,” however the officers will not face any charges.

Garcia says the police department considered charging the officers with failure to stop and render aid, but chose not to do so upon interpreting that state law on such charges only applies when a person clearly caused an accident before fleeing the scene.

The choice to not charge officers with failure to render aid is another reminder of police inaction.

In Uvalde, Texas officers reportedly stood by for forty-five minutes while receiving 911 calls from inside the classroom where an assailant was shooting children.

Additionally, during the George Floyd protests most officers are not being investigated, much less prosecuted, despite injuries to bystanders by Dallas law enforcement.

The inconsistency has some shaking their head. During several protests at Dealey Montessori in North Dallas, white protestors were allowed on campus with firearms in some cases over the mask mandate and officers would take no action.

Changes may be coming though. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, ruled that Dallas police officers violated a mentally ill man’s constitutional rights when they pinned him to the ground for fourteen minutes and that they might be liable for his death.

The loss of qualified immunity in that case may change plans for Dallas Police procedures soon.

DPD Doesn’t Render Aid – Doesn’t Serve Citizen

This case is ultimately another example of Dallas police failing to perform their basic duties in providing service and protection to citizens of Dallas.

The last Chief of Police left city service suddenly after an inappropriate relationship with a known felon came to light. Our reporting led to the immediate resignation of U. Reneé Hall.

Despite pledging to serve the remainder of 2020, her resignation was announced on December 10, 2020, with Lonzo Anderson, appointed Interim Chief of Police starting December 15, 2020.

City officials from the Mayor’s Office and City Manager’s Office continue to avoid questions about her tenure or the most recent allegations.

Since that time multiple officers have been arrested – some more than once.

Additionally, Chief Garcia is referred to as on an island. Insiders have complained about the new chief’s lack of accountability and transparency when dealing with the public.