While it may be the fodder for many a TV cop show, it’s also the basis of many an academic research study:  the behavior of police officers both on and off duty, and how their unique psychological situations may make them more prone to violent behavior.  Last week, we had two cops making the news for their off-hours exploits – misplaced aggression that put them over the line.

First, a Dallas cop was arrested last week over in Duncanville for misdemeanor assault based upon family violence.  This female police officer was allegedly involved in a domestic dispute with her husband and the Duncanville police not only were sent to her home, but arrested her for an assault charge that could carry one year’s imprisonment and a $4000 fine if she is convicted.  According to media reports, her husband had visible injuries and the arrest occurred only after both husband and wife were interviewed.  Officer Barbara Ann Chandler remains on the job with the Dallas Police Department as these charges progress in Duncanville; however, she’s on desk duty. 

Second, former Dallas cop Randy Anderson just get sentenced to 45 days in jail with 4 years probation (deferred adjudication) and a $1500 fine for an event that occured back in December 2007 involving country music singer Steve Holy.  A Dallas police officer at the time, Anderson was off duty and allegedly drinking with fellow off duty cop Paul Loughridge when things got messy.  (Loughridge is still awaiting trial.)  Seems Anderson, Holy, and some others were drinking festive beverages at Holy’s home after meeting up at a nearby bar, according to media reports, when Anderson demanded identification from Holy – who didn’t readily comply – resulting in Anderson drawing his weapon and pointing his gun at Holy.  Anderson was convicted for aggravated assault.  (Randy Anderson’s employment with the Dallas Police Department was terminated after the incident. )

This two stories are just from last week … but what are they telling us about off-duty cops being dangerous?

The domestic violence story regarding Dallas Police Officer Barbara Ann Chandler and the aggravated assault conviction of former Dallas cop Randy Anderson should be a rarity, right?  But they’re not. 

Cops themselves recognize the murkiness of that line between on-duty and off-duty behavior (see e.g., “12 Rules for Off Duty Conduct” by Lindsey Bertomen“) and law enforcement organizations study “…the impossible mandate of police work in a free society,” (see The Challenge of Selecting Tomorrow’s Police Officers from Generations X and Y by Francis McCafferty, M.D. in the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law). 

Do a quick Google search for “off duty cops dangerous” and read story after story in this country about police officers being very, very dangerous on their off-time. 

Perhaps the question isn’t if Dallas cops are dangerous, but if all cops that are off-duty should be considered powder kegs?  Imagine the wife of the Texas police chief who Tasered her at home last April would say “yes” to that question ….

Today, the Texas Rangers are investigating the deaths of two young men who were killed by a policeman’s bullets.

A 28-year-old and a 30-year-old both killed by police gunfire in the past two weeks

The Rangers are involved in determining what happened in the shooting death of 28 year old Tabaris Brown in Childress, Texas, on Saturday as well as the shooting death of 30 year old Jaime Almaguer in New Braunfels two weeks ago.

The Death of Tabaris Brown

According to media reports, Brown died in a restaurant parking lot on US 287, where he stopped his vehicle after a chase with police. Exiting the vehicle, Brown is said to have had a gun in his hands according to at least one eyewitness who is not a cop — and that Brown raised his gun toward the officers. Ballistics is testing whether or not Brown fired his weapon at the police before they opened fire on Brown.   

The Rangers’ spokesman has told the media that their investigation has revealed at least one friend and one family member that substantiate the fact that Brown did travel with a loaded gun in his car.  (In case you were wondering about a plant. Good question, right?)

The Death of Jaime Almaguer

Newspapers across the state are monitoring the story of Jaime Almaguer, who was shot and killed by police while he was standing in the southbound lane of IH35 as the highway travels through New Braunfels.  Almaguer died on the freeway early on the morning of November 11th, and traffic headed toward San Antonio and Mexico-way was blocked from the roadway crime scene for much of that Wednesday. 

Almaguer was being sought by police for questioning in the death of his alleged girlfriend, Jennifer Trader, whose body had been found in her San Antonio apartment with a single gunshot wound to the head.  Law enforcement purportedly was about to give up their manhunt for Almaguer, when he was spotted walking along the IH35 access road  in New Braunfels. 

According to media reports, Almaguer had not only told relatives in New Braunfels that he had killed somebody in San Antonio, but he was also in communication with law enforcement as their manhunt progressed, and Almaguer is said to have told New Braunfels police that he was armed and he wanted a shootout with the cops. 

Where these two incidents of Suicide by Cop? The Texas Rangers Will Find Out ….

It is sad but true that there are occasions where individuals have lost their trust in the criminal justice system of this country to such a degree that they cannot fathom facing arrest and teaming with a criminal defense attorney to fight against the charges.  (Defense lawyers CAN help, but clients have to call, take that first step.)

Instead, these tragic souls decide to take a stand against law enforcement in a doomed scenario, where they are knowingly outmanned and outgunned.  These situations have come to be known as “suicide by cop.”

It is also sad but true that there are also occasions where individuals are killed by police and the shootout is labeled a “suicide by cop” to cover up an error of law enforcement, with a gun left convincingly close to the victim’s body.  Many are suspicious of events where the police kill individuals – especially when their loved ones’ deaths are then investigated by the police department’s internal affairs division.    A question can be raised regarding the rising trend of Suicide by Cop — is it real? 

The Texas Rangers are an independent organization, with a steady reputation of working with federal agencies as need be (we’ve posted about these joint efforts many times) to find and stop corruption within the Texas criminal justice system.  Based upon media reports, they have a plethora of potential evidence in the New Braunfels shooting: e.g., videotapes taken during the manhunt, audiotapes of the conversations that the suspect had with police prior to the shooting. 

Whether or not Almaguer’s death was a suicide by cop should be easily determined (and from media reports, it does appear to fit into the Suicide by Cop pattern – especially the taped admissions by the decedent that he wanted to engage in a shootout). 

However, the Childress killing does not appear to be so easily investigated.  Curious by its absence are any video or audio of the altercation between the police and Brown in that restaurant parking lot.  Those police car dashboard cams?  The cameras weren’t pointed in the right direction, says Childress Police Chief Reece Bowen, so they didn’t capture the event on tape.  And the audio? It wasn’t working.  Bowen says his equipment is old, and just wasn’t working.  That they’re a “poverty level police department.” 

Which makes it a bigger job for the Texas Rangers, doesn’t it?  Wonder what the media will be reporting about the gun found with Brown, and the story that its spent shell casings (if any) at the scene have to tell ….

It’s all over the news today that Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle is quitting his job as Head Cop for our fair city — and lots of folk are speaking out about what a great job he’s done for the community. 

His resignation letter has been published in the media, and it includes a litany of successes that Chief Kunkle points to with pride.   Dallas City Manager Mary Suhm has been quoted as explaining that Chief Kunkle wants to “term limit” himself, under the belief that there is a “shelf life” to the job. 

Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway calls Kunkle’s resignation a “loss to Dallas.”   Media reports in Dallas and Houston point to a record over the past five years where the crime rate was reduced “radically.” 

Which brings us to Tanya Eiserer and Steve Thompson. 

Eiserer and Thompson are two reporters working at the Dallas Morning News, and they have a story to tell.  The Dallas Morning News is reporting that these two truth-seekers have discovered that Chief Kunkle’s crime reporting has been questionable. 

Specifically, stories by Eiserer and Thompson have been published in the Dallas Morning News detailing that (1) the deparment was not counting all car burglary reports in its official tallies (published in September 2009) and (2) the department for many years has been recording complaints of attempted burglary as simple vandalism (published in November 2009).  Those, of course, are two different animals — and importantly, the reporters point out that doing this creative categorization goes against federal guidelines, to boot. 

This morning, the Dallas Morning News is asking if the real reason that Chief Kunkle is resigning without any new position lined up — remember now, he’s purportedly had a long term plan to “term limit” himself according to Suhm — is due in part to the efforts of Eiserer and Thompson.   And, we all remember just last month, when the Chief got a lot of bad press on a national scale when it was revealed that his officers were fining drivers who could not speak English. 

Curious, isn’t it?  Gotta wonder if another shoe is about to fall ….

Earlier this month, without much fanfare, the company that makes Tasers (those electric stun guns) changed the wording in its training manuals.  Now, the company is warning users of its product NOT to aim for the chest. 

Why not?  People can be severely injured or killed when those 50,000 volts hit near their vital organs, especially their heart.  (We’ve been keeping a running record of Texas Taser injuries and deaths. )

Some Texas law enforcement agencies are heeding this warning – most aren’t

After the new warnings were issued by the Taser maker, heads of several law enforcement agencies issued public statements in response.  For example, Montgomery County is considering the warning as its agency still reels from the death of suspect Robert Lee Welch, 50 years old, being ruled a homicide by Taser last February.  Harris County Precinct 6 Constable Victor Trevino just flat out suspended the use of Tasers by his officers.  (Harris County Precincts 2, 5, 7 and 8 have already banned the use of Tasers by their deputies.)

Most law enforcement agencies haven’t issued any public statements about any changes in policy due to Taser International’s October 2009 bulletin.   And they should.

The Taser Manufacturer Seems Pretty Direct — Their Product Has Killed People and They Understand Legal Liability

Here’s the lingo from the manufacturer:  using lots of words, Taser International based out of Scottsdale, Arizona, warns the cops that Taser deaths can place the law enforcement agency, the police officer who uses its product, and the manufacturer Taser International “in the difficult situation of trying to ascertain what role, if any, (the device) could have played.”  The company goes on to say that cops should never shoot a stun gun near someone’s chest area “unless legally justified” (whatever the heck that means — “legally justified”).

Look, here’s the bottom line.  Tasers kill people.  The company that makes them knows this.  They also know that cops love their product so much that they’ll buy stun guns out of their own pocket money if their employer won’t supply them.  What to do, what to do? 

Here’s what Taser International has done. 

By issuing this warning to law enforcement, the company is setting up its legal defense when other people die from stun guns.  They are going to point to this language and say “hey, we told ‘em not to point that thing near the guy’s chest,” if he did it anyway, it’s not our problem.  

Wrongful death cases can mean big money damages, and Taser International is trying a preemptive strike here against having to pay out in the future.  While they keep profiting from a product that issues a horrific electric shock upon humans. 

When is the Texas Legislature going to do something about stun guns in this state?