Dallas Police Deputy Chief Terrence Rhodes held a press conference on Monday morning to address an officer-involved shooting that took place over the weekend.
The fourth officer-involved shooting of 2023 took place just after 3 a.m. Saturday morning in the 2600 block of Robert B. Cullum Boulevard in South Dallas, as reported by The Dallas Express, near Williams Fried Chicken and Dallas International Street Church.
In the televised statement, Rhodes described the incident involving three officers who shot a suspect who had reportedly been firing a gun outside a business in the early hours of May 6. He noted that the bodycam footage from each of the officers was being released to the public “in an effort to be transparent.”
Officers Jesse Custer, Daniel Lopez, and Grant Sabatino arrived on scene in response to reports of an active shooter on foot.
Upon making contact with the suspect later identified as 53-year-old Kris Green, Rhodes said that Green “started yelling incoherently” and seemingly ignored the officers’ repeated requests to get on the ground and drop the gun.
Bodycam footage shows the officers trying to engage with Green, who continued to wave his gun around. Still shouting at the officers, Green then fired a shot.
In the bodycam footage, Sabatino can apparently be heard radioing in, telling the station that the suspect had shot at them.
“After firing, Green tucked the gun under his arm and starts to walk toward Second Avenue,” Rhodes said.
As the suspect walked into the intersection of Robert B. Cullum Boulevard and Second Avenue, he began to come near a vehicle that had stopped at a traffic light.
At this point, Green was apparently still shouting at officers and ignoring their orders to drop the weapon, as seen in the bodycam footage.
“He’s reaching for it,” said Lopez, and the three officers opened fire on Green, striking him in the lower body.
Green was still speaking when they began administering first aid on him at the scene, saying repeatedly, “they got some bodies over there.”
Rhodes explained that the suspect was taken to a local hospital soon after. He is currently in stable condition.
Both the Office of Community Police Oversight and the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office were notified, responded to the scene, and will conduct their own investigations, Rhodes said.
The Dallas PD’s Special Investigations Unit is also investigating the case, according to Rhodes.
Green was charged with possession of methamphetamine, criminal mischief, deadly conduct, and discharge of a firearm in certain municipalities.
The incident is part of a disturbing rash of violent crime in Dallas. According to the Dallas crime analytics dashboard, murder and non-negligent manslaughters are up 21.8% year-to-date in 2023. On Saturday alone, four homicides were reported.
The Dallas Express contacted District 7 City Councilman Adam Bazaldua for comment about this incident and the rising rates of violent crime in Dallas, but did not receive a response by the publication deadline.
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