Dallas police have released footage from a deadly confrontation between officers and an alleged sex offender on Sunday night.
Police Chief Eddie García and Deputy Chief Terrence Rhodes shared additional details on Tuesday about the police chase and shootout that ended with a man shot dead and the release of a handcuffed woman recovered from the backseat of an allegedly stolen vehicle, according to Fox 4 KDFW.
Shortly past midnight on September 24, plainclothes officers spotted a silver Cadillac SUV with false paper plates that had been flagged two days earlier for fleeing a traffic stop.
The officers followed the vehicle from Garland Road to the 1800 block of Barnes Bridge Road in Far East Dallas and requested backup.
Officers Francis Vela and Oscar Macias arrived and confronted the driver, who was later identified as 55-year-old Michael Shirley.
However, Shirley allegedly ignored the officers’ verbal commands to freeze and show his hands, instead pulling out a gun. He allegedly fired at the officers, taking off in the SUV.
A short police chase ended a few blocks down the road, where the SUV hit a curb and flipped in a church parking lot.
Exiting the crashed vehicle, Shirley exchanged gunfire with police, including Senior Cpl. Andrew Peace and Officer Richard Reiniger, who had also responded to the scene.
Shirley was given first aid but died from his wounds. Sunday’s shootout happened in Council Member Paula Blackmon’s District 9.
As García revealed, Shirley had active arrest warrants for weapons violations and aggravated robbery charges. He was also a registered sex offender, having done an eight-year stint in prison for a 2010 conviction for indecency with a 6-year-old, according to The Dallas Morning News.
His criminal history also reportedly included charges such as burglary, theft, unlawful carrying of a weapon, evading arrest, and driving with a suspended license.
García said no officers were injured in the gunfight and noted that the woman recovered from the crashed SUV’s backseat had superficial wounds.
“The woman said she got into the suspect’s vehicle voluntarily and as they drove around the suspect pulled her into the second row of the vehicle and handcuffed her to the seatbelt,” García said.
The Dallas Police Department’s special investigations unit continues to examine the incident.
DPD is currently grappling with an officer shortage, with just 3,200 sworn officers in service despite a City report previously indicating that a force of 4,000 was needed to provide adequate policing to Dallas.
Downtown Dallas has been especially affected by the shortage. Compared to Fort Worth’s downtown area, which is reportedly patrolled by a dedicated police unit working alongside private security guards, the neighborhood regularly logs much more crime.
