A Mesquite police officer has been accused of misconduct in the investigation of a shooting involving his father and an alleged stalker.
Wylie resident and Mesquite police officer Brian Hill, 39, faces charges from the Wylie Police Department after allegedly providing officers with a false statement and misusing his police-issued laptop.
The allegations stem from Wylie PD’s investigation into a shooting that occurred in the 100 block of South Ballard Avenue in Wylie at approximately 2:35 a.m. on June 25.
The victim, 43-year-old Jason Benjamin, was the former boyfriend of Hill’s girlfriend and had allegedly been stalking them both leading up to and on the night of the incident, per an arrest affidavit obtained by NBC 5 DFW.
Hill said he got a call from his girlfriend that night saying that Benjamin had followed her to a relative’s apartment in Garland and tried to get inside the gates. Hill drove to the Garland apartments and decided to follow Benjamin’s vehicle as it pulled away. When Hill saw that Benjamin, a resident of Mesquite, appeared to be heading to Wylie, the officer became concerned that Benjamin knew where he lived and decided to contact Wylie police.
Wylie officers located Benjamin but released him since no apparent crime had been committed. Just a few minutes afterward, someone shot at him. Benjamin was uninjured by the gunfire, but a bullet hole rendered his white Chevy Malibu undriveable.
Benjamin told officers that a man in a white Audi SUV had pulled up beside him and fired a shot at his vehicle, per NBC 5. Wylie police ruled Hill out as a suspect because he was still giving his account of Benjamin’s harassment to officers at the time of the shooting.
However, the investigation eventually led to Hill’s father, 65-year-old Darvin Hill, a Rowlett city marshal, thanks to surveillance camera footage of the shooting. Darvin Hill was arrested on charges of deadly conduct — discharge of a firearm on July 11.
A subsequent investigation uncovered that the Hills had been in contact with each other both before and after the shooting. In a later interview with police, Officer Hill allegedly confessed to providing his father with information about Benjamin’s vehicle prior to the shooting.
“We have access to a national database that is very well regulated, so it cannot be used for personal use, so Mr. Hill used that laptop and ran some vehicle registration information, which he was then able to provide to his father, who committed the shooting,” Officer Alexandra Waters, a spokesperson for Wylie PD, told NBC 5.
“One of the most important takeaways is that regardless of who is involved, regardless of who the suspect is, regardless of who the victim is, we are committed to doing a thorough investigation and then following those facts wherever they may lead us,” Waters added.
Benjamin was arrested by Garland police on stalking charges on July 8. He allegedly committed other offenses as well, including slashing his ex-girlfriend’s tires and setting fire to Hill’s motorcycle, per Fox 4 KDFW.
Hill is on administrative leave pending further investigation.
“Officer Hill is a 17-year veteran of the Mesquite Police Department and a decorated hero,” a statement from Hill’s attorney to Fox 4 read.
“He received the Medal of Honor from the Mayor of Mesquite as well as the Medal of Valor for entering a burning school bus in 2018. He understands and respects the legal process. There is more to this story, but this is not the time or the place to share it. We ask for patience as we gather all the facts and prepare to present our case in court. We are confident that the full truth will emerge through the judicial process.”
This incident leaves Mesquite down a police officer amid a nationwide shortage. North Texas cities that have seen considerable growth these past 10 years, such as Mesquite, have found it challenging to adequately staff their police forces.
For instance, according to a City analysis, the Dallas Police Department’s recommended staffing level for the city’s population size is 4,000 officers. However, the force currently has only about 3,000 officers. As a result of this shortfall, DPD’s response times have suffered, while Downtown Dallas continues to be a hotspot for criminal activity.
Nevertheless, DPD continues to be underfunded when compared to other high-crime cities in the United States. City leaders approved the department a budget of just $654 million this fiscal year.