Dallas police officer arrested on 2 counts of capital murder

This is a developing story and will be updated.

A Dallas police officer was arrested Thursday on two counts of capital murder after authorities said he ordered two assaults in 2017.

The Dallas Morning News he obtained an internal memo from Chief Eddie García, who told the department that Officer Bryan Riser, 36, was in custody.

He had not yet been charged at Dallas County Prison on Thursday afternoon, according to a Sheriff’s Department spokesman. It was not clear whether he had a lawyer.

“The actions of this policeman not only tarnished the badge, but also hindered the efforts of those who go out every day to inspire public confidence and create respect for the police profession,” said García.

Riser, who joined the department in August 2008, was assigned to the Central-South patrol division, according to a press release. He was currently placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation, the department said.

One of the victims, 30-year-old Liza Saenz, was found dead on the Trinity River in March 2017, García told a news conference on Thursday afternoon. The other victim, Albert Douglas, was kidnapped and killed by Riser’s order, García said.

Garcia said that Riser had a relationship with at least one of the victims.

“This individual should not wear this uniform,” said García, adding that the department was moving towards Riser’s resignation. “I can’t be clearer than that.”

García added that former Dallas police chief U. Reneé Hall was aware of the allegations.

Hall confirmed for The news that she was informed that Riser was a “person of interest” in the deaths. But being appointed a person of interest is not enough to warrant an arrest warrant for probable cause, she said.

Hall said a strategic decision had been made, with the guidance of federal police, homicide detectives and the Dallas County Attorney’s office, not to place Riser on administrative leave so that authorities would not compromise the investigation of the murder. She said that telling Riser that he was under investigation could have given her a chance to cover her tracks.

She said she credited the detectives’ work for the arrest being made today.

“By doing something different, we may not have been able to bring justice to families today,” she said.

Murder of Saenz

Boaters found Saenz’s body at Trinity, near block 200 on Santa Fe Avenue, south of downtown Dallas, after hearing several shots on the night of March 10, 2017.

The mother of two was born in Corpus Christi and grew up on Aransas Pass, according to her obituary.

Mary Hodge, Saenz’s mother, said on Thursday that she had not heard of Riser’s arrest, noting that she was expecting a call from a detective. Hodge confirmed that Saenz knew Riser, but she did not know the extent of their relationship.

Six months after Saenz’s death in September 2017, three men – Kevin Kidd, Emmanuel Kilpatrick and Jermon Simmons – were arrested on charges of capital murder in his death. Police said an anonymous informant took them to the suspects.

At the time, Kidd told police he met Kilpatrick and Simmons at the bottom of the river, after Kilpatrick forced Saenz into a car at gunpoint. Kidd said he saw Kilpatrick shoot Saenz on the river bank.

The trio was charged with three other murders that took place over a four-day period.

According to the statement of Riser’s arrest warrant, one of the three men – the police did not say which – came forward in August 2019 and said that Riser was involved in the murder of Saenz, as well as in the death of Douglas.

This man told authorities that he and Riser met when they were young and lost contact. They reconnected in 2013, he said, and Riser asked if he still committed thefts and robberies as they did when they were younger, the statement says.

The man said Riser came up with a plan to give him and his associates information about the drug houses, which they would steal and share the money, according to the statement. But that plan never came to fruition.

Instead, the man told authorities, Riser identified a man he wanted to kill and offered to pay $ 3,500, the statement says. The man and one of his associates kidnapped that man – Douglas – and killed him, then threw his body into Trindade, according to the statement.

Douglas was reported missing in February 2017 and his body was not found, police said.

Several weeks later, Riser approached the man again and offered him $ 6,000 to kill Saenz, who he said was an informant, according to the statement. He and his associates took her to the same place where Douglas was killed, says the statement.

Police said Riser’s cell phone and vehicle data put him in places where the witness said they met to plan the killings.

‘Devastating’

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said he was “disgusted” at hearing the charges against Riser.

“But I am grateful for our homicide detectives, who worked to ensure that justice is done,” said Johnson. “My heart is with the victims’ loved ones. I cannot imagine the anguish they endured. They, and everyone in Dallas, deserve answers in this case. “

Sgt. Mike Mata, president of the Dallas Police Association, said Riser was placed on paid administrative leave pending a resignation hearing. He said it was “devastating for a member of this police department to be accused of something as horrible as capital murder.”

He said that Riser should be held responsible if found guilty.

“We do our best to make sure we hire the best human beings we can,” he said. “But, just like in any profession, we have individuals who do not honor the badge and do not honor the uniform.”

Terrance Hopkins, president of the Greater Dallas Black Police Association, said that “it is a very unfortunate incident and, if true, it is unacceptable”. Riser was not a member of that police group, Hopkins said.

In the upscale neighborhood south of Grand Prairie, where Riser lives, two Dallas police cars pulled up outside his red-brick house on Thursday afternoon.

Neighbors said Riser and his family moved about a year ago and were friendly. They said there was not much unusual activity in the house before a car pulled up on Thursday.

Accusation of family violence

Riser was accused in 2017 of a misdemeanor charge for assaulting family violence that caused bodily harm.

According to a statement from an arrest warrant, Riser’s girlfriend started an argument with him about a post on his Facebook page that said their relationship was over.

She told police she wanted to post a picture of him on Facebook, but he declined and asked her to leave her apartment, the statement said. He said she refused to go and hit him on the hand and the head.

Riser said the woman assaulted him again after he called a patrol sergeant to ask the police to come to his home and that he grabbed her by the arm, according to police documents.

The woman told police that Riser tapped her on the arm and took a cell phone she had borrowed from a neighbor to call 911. According to the statement, she said he grabbed her arms, pulled her out of a bed and threw it on the floor, then dragged and kicked it. She also said that he picked her up, carried her to the apartment door and threw it away.

The outcome of this case was not immediately clear; it does not appear in the records of the Dallas County Courthouse.

Editors Everton Bailey Jr. and Charles Scudder contributed to this report.