Dallas Police Officer Shoots Man 41 Times, Other Officers Investigated for Taking and Trying to Destroy Witness's Video and Photo Evidence

Last month here in the Dallas area -- actually, in the city of Mesquite, which sets smack dab inside Dallas' city limits -- a man named Michael Vincent Allen got into a high speed car chase with the police and it's reported that there were times that speeds exceeded 100 mph as police cars from various law enforcement jurisdictions joined in the chase.

Police Officer Crashes Patrol Car Into Suspect's Vehicle - And Shoots Him 41 Times

It lasted around 30 minutes, according to news reports - Mr. Allen behind the wheel of a pickup, speeding along - and it ended when Mr. Allen turned into a cul-de-sac and, according to the police officers that were there, then tried to exit the cul-de-sac by slamming his pick up through two police sedans that had slammed into position, blocking the cul-de-sac's exit.   Mr. Allen's truck didn't push aside the two patrol cars, and the chase was over.  However, other reports are that after Mr. Allen turned the truck around in the cul-de-sac, a Garland police officer named Patrick Tuter slammed into the pickup to prevent Allen from driving any further.

This second version of things has been verified by the police in an updated version of events issued several days later, with confirmation that Tuter's dashcam video confirmed the patrol car crashed into the pick up truck to stop it, and that Allen didn't try to slam his GMC pickup into the police car.


That was not the end of the story.  Because then Mr. Allen died - died after being shot there in the driver's seat of his pick-up truck, blocked by the patrol cars in a Mesquite cul-de-sac.  He was shot by Officer Tuter who fired over and over and over again: Mr. Allen was shot with police bullets FORTY-ONE TIMES.  (You can see video of the truck in the aftermath online here.)

41 times: it means that the police officer had to stop, think, reload his weapon, and keep shooting.  Some reports are that this took three clips from Officer Tuter's gun to achieve.  Which means he reloaded TWICE.   It's not disputed that Mr. Allen was not armed.  There was no gun in the pickup truck.  No one shot first at an officer. 

Officer Tuter defends his actions as not being excessive force but instead a reasonable response as he feared for his life.  (Read about Texas law and excessive force on our web site reference pages.)  Right now, he's on restricted duty.

However, as bad as this story is - and it's very bad - it gets worse.

Police Officers Take Mobile Phone From Witness -- and Destroy Video/Photos On It

Because other police officers on the scene are alleged to have tried to destroy evidence of what happened on that cul-de-sac.  Seems a man who lived in that cul-de-sac not only watched what was going on, but took video and photographed the event.  According to this man, Mitchell Wallace, he didn't see the shooting but he did see the female passenger (who was not hit by the bullets, wow) being pulled from the truck's cab by the cops and he did see the police send their dog into the cab, where the dog bit Mr. Allen on the neck and then drug him out of the truck to lay face down on the street.  Wallace documented all of this, plus the police turning the body over to check for a pulse.

Here's the thing:  Wallace's mobile phone video and photos were taken by law enforcement at the scene, and when the phone was returned to him, this stuff was missing from it.  Gone.  Erased. 

So now there are other law enforcement officers being investigated for messing with evidence.  As well as destroying property that didn't belong to them.  (There's some stories that the evidence may still be available and some investigator just took the SIM card out of Mr. Wallace's phone.)

Under Texas law, the police do not have the right to take personal property like Mr. Wallace's phone or anything inside it unless there is probable cause to believe it's been part of a crime that has been committed.  No one is arguing that Mitchell Wallace, using his phone from his own home to document what was happening on the street outside, was committing any crime.

It's being called not only a case of Excessive Force against a Texas citizen on a summer night here in Dallas that ended in a man dead on the street, but a cover up by his colleagues who didn't want to have filmed evidence of what happened that night. 

For more information, read our posts:

• Dallas Has Record Number of Police Shootings in 2012
• Dallas County Sheriff Arrests Motorcyclist For Refusing to Turn Over His Helmet Cam Video of Police

Do not let these stories stop you from using your phone to document things that you believe are important to record.  

Updating my website - www.familylaw4u.com

Stay tune for changes to my website!



James Strictland, my outstanding and creative web designer, and I talked for an hour today.

I authorized him to do a total over-haul of my website.

It's the first time in over 6 years that I'm letting him have full reign to do what he wants to do!

I trust him so it's time for my website to get a fresh, clean new look & feel.



He is totally re-designing the site and making it faster + making me the latest & greatest in technology.



He convinced me to add some new "techie" stuff to my site so "stay tuned" for some new gadgets to be added in the next month!



I want it to be "dazzling", fast and consumer friendly.



I want it to impress the under-30 crowd but not over-whelm anyone visiting my site.



I will now also have an abbreviated site for smart phones -- something that did not exist a couple of years ago.  Now that I surf on my own smart phone on a daily basis, I want my website to be accessible to people looking for a mediator.



Check back frequently in the next few weeks.



Additionally, this blog should be moving to my website to make it easier for me to post -- Google+ has been a nightmare -- I now have 4 Google+ accounts that I can't seem to all merge plus posting to this blog is getting harder with the changes in Google+.



(Google are you listening!##$@#$@#$#@$@$@#$@#^$@%^#$%&*#%^&!!)



I look forward to your input and comments.



If you see any typos -- let me know!



www.familylaw4u.com

www.crinfo.org - FREE mediation website

www.crinfo.org The Conflict Resolution Information Source website --  CRInfo (pronounced "See Our Info") stands for "conflict resolution information source."  It is a FREE service, funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.  As a "linking" site, their staff of editors maintains a keyword-coded catalog of over 20,000 Web, print, and organizational resources, as well as event listings and other conflict resolution-related resources. I just found it and it seems full of interesting sites to look at for mediation information.

I am now advertising with Mediation.com

I just signed on with Mediation.com and Arbitration.com for the next 2 years.



I checked with a mediator in Spring, Texas that has success with their services.



I have found it very difficult to get productive mediation leads but it never hurts to get my name out in the public.

I can add "arbitrator" to my list of qualifications

I just completed "arbitrator" training so I can now add that title to my list of qualifications.



In family law, arbitration is not often used so I don't think that I will use it much.



It seems to be used mostly for government work.



FYI: The Better Business Bureau (BBB) does some arbitration work for free or for low cost.

School Days: How Does “School” Affect My Texas Possession Schedule?

Most Standard Possession Orders (SPO) in Texas make specific reference to weekends extended by student holidays and teacher in-service days, or set the beginning and end of periods of possession by a parent at the time that “school” begins or ends.  But which “school” calendar controls these matters?

Unless defined differently in the specific possession order or divorce decree, “school” in a Texas SPO means either:

1. the primary or secondary school in which the child is enrolled, or  
2. if the child is not enrolled in school, the public school district in which the child primarily resides.

So, for children who are too young to attend school, parents should refer to the calendar for the school district in which the child would attend public school based on his or her primary residence (as established by the parent with the exclusive right to designate the child’s primary residence). 

For children attending private school, or who go to a school outside their “regular” district, parents should follow the calendar of the school in which their child is actually enrolled.

However, when all else fails, parents should remember that they can agree upon a different definition of “school,” and they can always agree to alter the standard possession schedule so that it makes practical sense for themselves and their child. Such agreements should be documented in writing, and signed by both parents to avoid any future disagreements or confusion.

By:  Cynthia W. Veidt

Texas Law Basics for Employers: General Recordkeeping Requirements

What records should Texas employers keep in an employee’s human resources file? And for how long should you keep them?

Each employee should have a separate human resources file which contains, as a general rule of thumb:

• their job application / resume, 
• any background checks or test results that are related to their job duties (see our previous blog post on this topic), 
• a description of their essential job duties and functions, 
• their I-9 form with copies of accompanying identification documents proving eligibility for employment, 
• any offer letters or contracts detailing their compensation structure, 
• signed acknowledgement forms for any company policies and procedures and/or employee handbook, 
• their W-4 form, 
• any applications for benefit programs offered to your employee, 
• records reflecting the hours worked each week by that employee, as well as all paid holidays and all leave or vacation time (paid or unpaid) used by that employee (see separate blog post on FLSA requirements for calculation of overtime pay due to non-exempt employees), 
• performance evaluations, 
• disciplinary actions, and 
• payroll records.

Federal and Texas state laws require that you maintain many of these records for at least two, and sometimes three years.  However, because the statute of limitation for many employment-related claims can be four years from the date of an incident, you may wish to maintain these records for a five-year period. 

By: Cynthia W. Veidt