A Dallas police officer faces charges after killing a 16-year-old teen to death and wounding another. The said police who was off-duty at the time of the incident was arrested on Wednesday.
Ken Johnson, a Farmers Branch police officer, is charged with murder and aggravated assault, Alabama reported. Addison police officer brought him into custody on Wednesday night and was booked to Dallas County Jail. His arrest stemmed from a burglary chase and shooting incident on a gas station on Sunday.
Johnson chased down the two burglary suspects in his personal vehicle and opened fire on the teens. The 16-year-old, known as Jose Cruz, died after he was fatally shot by the officer in Addison, according to the Dallas Morning News. The other teen, identified as Edgar Rodriguez, who was also shot, survived.
Investigations and internal affairs are still ongoing, according to Addison Police Chief Paul Spencer. He was also questioned by Chris Livingston, the defendant's representing lawyer regarding the charges. He took the issue with the case not going before a grand jury, as many officer-involved shootings do. Livingston believes Addison's decision is somehow related to the fact that his client was a black police officer.
The lawyer also told News 8, the teen suspects don't have weapons when the incident happened. "Obviously, that's a complicating factor, that these two criminals did not have weapons on them. At the same, they were in the middle of committing a crime. They did not follow orders," Livingston said as quoted by WFAA8 quoted. However, after the interview, he called to clarify that the Addison authorities have not yet released details regarding the suspects' use of weapon in the public.
Farmers Branch police spokesman David Laisure refused to give a comment on the case on Wednesday, deferring to Addison police. Addison police Chief Paul Spencer previously said that Johnson had no disciplinary record. He also noted that department policies do not allow off-duty officers to chase suspects in their own vehicles.
Johnson has worked for the Farmers Branch Police for a year. He worked as a peace officer for Dallas Area Rapid Transit for almost eight years before that.
