Dallas police chief fires officer who drove away after car he pursued crashed, caught fire
Dallas Police Chief Eddie García fired an officer and suspended a trainee officer on Wednesday after they failed to immediately stop to help when a car they were chasing crashed and caught fire. The boss also fired an officer and a 911 caller who was arrested on DWI charges.
The chief fired Sr. Cpl. Daniel Jamieson, Sr. Cpl. Leonard Anderson and 911 caller Zyana Hubbard, Dallas police confirmed. He also suspended Officer Darrien Robertson for 30 days.
“These days are brutal,” García said in a text message about the decisions. “The discipline speaks for itself.”
she may challenge discipline under the rules of public service. It was unclear if they had lawyers.
Anderson, who has been with the department since 2008, and Robertson were furloughed in May after failing to stop and help the driver. Robertson also did not immediately clear his traffic signs after completing a call, police said.
Video footage obtained by WFAA-TV (Channel 8) shows officers at a gas station on May 13 at the corner of Meadow Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard in south Dallas.
The footage shows a car pulling onto the road without its headlights on. Anderson and Robertson turn on their emergency lights and chase the car for about 30 seconds before the car speeds away. Anderson and Robertson then stop the pursuit and turn off their emergency lights, and the car crashes.
“It’s his fault,” one of the officers says.
Surveillance footage from a four-way intersection down the road shows the car nearly hit a pedestrian and another car, then crashed in front of the camera. About 10 seconds later, a Dallas police car makes a right turn at the intersection, in the opposite direction of the wreckage, footage shows.
After the wreck, the car burst into flames off-camera, but the driver survived, WFAA reported. In the footage, a group carries a person across the intersection and then sets the person down in an open area. Other cars stop and people get out to help.
The boss previously said he was “embarrassed by the footage”. Body-worn camera footage shows officers returning to the area where the group was carrying the driver after the car caught fire. About a dozen witnesses shouted angrily. “What if these were your people?” says a man. “That is not right.”
García told the WFAA at the time that officers would not be prosecuted because they did not cause the accident – the driver, who was destroyed while attempting to get away.
Driving under the influence of alcohol
Hubbard and Jamieson were both fired after they were accused of drunk driving, Dallas police said.
Hubbard was arrested In April by the Hickory Creek Police Department. Jamieson was arrested by McKinney Police in late May and placed on administrative leave.
Jamieson had been with the department since 2008 and was assigned to the Tactical Operations Division. Hubbard has been working as an answerer since 2021, records show.
García has been vocal about his concerns about alcohol abuse in the department.
In September, he introduced a program that gives officers 30 days of paid leave to enroll in a rehabilitation program if they seek alcohol abuse help. Leave must be requested prior to arrest or violating department policies and procedures, the chief said.
