In one night, a man allegedly selling drugs fled Dallas police, returned to the scene, resisted arrest, and was fatally shot by an officer who tried to detain him.
On July 27, officers were investigating drug complaints outside the LBJ Food Mart in the 13000 block of Jupiter Road, according to the Dallas Police Department.
An undercover officer in the parking lot allegedly observed Kyle Dail, 30, make “multiple hand-to-hand drug sales” at about 10:20 p.m. before getting into the driver’s side of a Nissan Versa and exiting the gas station.
The undercover officer trailed the car and requested a marked patrol make a traffic stop of the suspect after the officer saw a traffic violation, police said.
Police said the driver refused to stop when officers attempted to stop him at Highway 635 and Skillman Road at about 10:25 p.m. Dallas police helicopter, Air One, tried to follow the vehicle but lost sight, forcing authorities to call off the operation.
A short time later, at about 11:35 p.m., Dallas police received a text that Dail had returned to the gas station. An officer also recognized the vehicle and Dail as the driver who refused to stop.
The officer called for backup so Dail could be taken into custody for evading. Officers from the Northeast patrol responded, approached Dail from behind, and attempted to arrest him.
Dallas police released the surveillance video and body cam footage of the moment officers confronted the suspect inside the business. In one video, Dail can be heard telling the officers, “I’m not moving” and “I can’t see,” as officers tried to detain him.
In the ensuing melee, the video shows, Dail brought out a firearm and switched it to his other hand before throwing it away. At that same moment, an officer yelled “gun” multiple times.
In response to Dail pulling out his gun, an officer drew his weapon and fired at the suspect a moment after he tossed it. Police said only one officer fired his weapon.
The officers took custody of Dail’s weapon and called Dallas Fire-Rescue to the scene. The suspect was unresponsive and was taken to the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, where he died the following day.
During a press conference, Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia revealed Dail was a convicted felon who should not have been in possession of a firearm. Garcia added that Dail’s weapon was found loaded with four rounds and in a cocked position. Officers also found drugs on Dail and in the vehicle.
The Dallas Morning News reported that Dail’s record with the Dallas County Jail showed multiple felony convictions, including family violence assault, endangering a child, evading arrest, and being a prior felon in possession of a firearm.
Dallas Police Chief Garcia added that Dail’s shooting was traumatic for everyone involved and that the officers involved had not intended things to turn out the way they did. Garcia said that the officers approached Dail at the gas station from behind and surprised him to prevent him from fleeing again.
When asked if he felt the shooting was justified, Garcia said the shooting was being investigated and urged everyone to look at the totality of the circumstance.
“I don’t know what his intent was,” García said. However, it’s something that the officer perceived as a threat against someone that — again, this was not discretionary in my view.” He concluded, “Our officers needed to make contact with that individual.”
The Chairman of Dallas’ Community Police Oversight Board, Jesuorobo Enobakhare, Jr., raised multiple questions about the incident in a written statement, according to The Dallas Morning News.
“I am concerned about Mr. Dail being shot after he had thrown his weapon away,” Enobakhare said.
Enobakhare questioned whether the Dallas Police Department policy was followed in regard to the level of force used in shooting Mr. Dail. He also wondered “if there was a better way to apprehend Mr. Dail without the use of lethal force on what appears to be a man who may have surrendered his weapon.”
Brandon Friedman, a police oversight board member, also echoed Enobakhare’s sentiments on the shooting. “I don’t understand why the cops approached the suspect that way,” Friedman wrote on his Twitter account. “I really don’t understand why they shot him after he tossed the gun. And I also don’t understand why the video cuts off. Many questions.”
I don't understand why the cops approached the suspect that way. I *really* don't understand why they shot him *after* he tossed the gun. And I also don't understand why the video cuts off. Many questions. https://t.co/ddYlA9q5y9
— Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) July 29, 2022
Police Chief Garcia said the officers involved in the shooting had been placed on administrative leave, per Dallas Police Department protocol. The Dallas Police Special Investigations Unit is investigating the case, and the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office is conducting an independent investigation.
Last week, Dail’s family demanded that unedited body cam footage be released by the Dallas Police Department, saying the officers failed to try to neutralize the situation before firing the fatal shots. The family’s attorney said a possible civil lawsuit is coming.
Dail’s shooting was the second Dallas police officer-involved shooting in a period of three days and the fourth of such shootings in 2022. On Monday, July 25, a woman identified as Portia Odufuwa, 37, was shot by a Dallas PD officer after she fired multiple shots into the ceiling at Dallas’ Love Field Airport.
