The City of Dallas has reached a settlement with Bryan Riser, a former Dallas police officer who was wrongfully accused of murder and fired after he was arrested.
The settlement, finalized last month, includes three years of back pay and a reinstatement offer, though Riser has since resigned from the department.
In 2021, Riser, a decorated officer with the Dallas Police Department, was charged with hiring a hitman to kill Albert Douglas and Lisa Saenz in 2017. However, many errors and inconsistencies in the investigation emerged during a court hearing, leading to the dismissal of the charges, according to Fox 4 KDFW.
During an examination hearing, inconsistencies in the affidavit prepared by Det. Esteban Montenegro were revealed.
A significant error that impacted the case was that the detective had asserted cell phone records placed Riser at one of the murder scenes, but he later acknowledged this claim was incorrect.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Riser still has a pending civil lawsuit against Montenegro, who remains employed by the Dallas Police Department. Last year, a grand jury decided not to indict Montenegro on charges of tampering with evidence and perjury related to the case.
As of the time of publication, the Dallas Police Department has not responded to inquiries for a comment on the settlement or the ongoing litigation.
Toby Shook, one of Riser’s attorneys, criticized how the City has handled the whole situation.
“Bryan Riser was in jail for five weeks on two capital murder charges. After that three-hour hearing, the judge found there was no probable cause, but he was already fired,” Shook told Fox 4.
This error was later admitted during the hearing, ultimately resulting in the judge ruling that there was no probable cause for the case to proceed.
Riser was fired from the Dallas Police Department while he was in jail for five weeks, and despite being cleared at the hearing, he was not reinstated to the department. His attorneys have now secured a settlement that includes three years of back pay as compensation for the period he was wrongfully dismissed, per Fox 4.
In addition to the back pay, Riser was offered a reinstatement to the police force, but he chose to resign shortly thereafter. In a Facebook post celebrating the settlement, Riser wore a shirt emblazoned with “Checkmate,” reflecting his sentiment toward the resolution.
Shook also noted that Riser’s reputation remains tarnished due to the case’s high-profile nature.
“You’ll always have that stain,” he added, per Fox 4.