DEC 2022. Blues Vol 38 No. 12

concealed weapon on him while
handcuffed in the back of the
cruiser, KDVR.com reported.
The suspect shot one of two
officers inside the parking structure
at a detention center. The
officer suffered a gunshot wound
to the neck and was taken to a
hospital with non-life-threatening
injuries.
The suspect was shot multiple
times by at least one other officer.
He was taken to a hospital in
critical condition.
UVALDE OFFICIALS SAY LO-
CAL PROSECUTOR IMPEDED
INVESTIGATION INTO POLICE
RESPONSE TO SHOOTING
The City of Uvalde is suing the
local district attorney, accusing
her of withholding information
an independent investigator
needs to conduct an internal
affairs investigation of the police
response to the Robb Elementary
School shooting.
City officials hired Jesse Prado
of JPPI Investigations LLC
to conduct the internal affairs
inquiry. The suit filed Thursday
names Christina Mitchell, Uvalde
County district attorney for the
38th Judicial District, as the lone
defendant. It seeks a judge to
compel Mitchell, who could not
be immediately contacted for
comment, to hand over all relevant
law enforcement investigative
records and materials from
all law enforcement agencies.
“The internal affairs investigation
by Prado is ongoing, but
it is significantly restricted by
the scope of evidence available
to Prado by defendant,” the suit
alleged.
In a statement about the suit,
city officials said the Uvalde
community had “waited entirely
too long for answers and
transparency” about the May 24
shooting and the widely criticized
law enforcement response.
“Despite the City of Uvalde’s
efforts to amicably obtain the
necessary investigative materials
for its ongoing Uvalde Police
Department’s Internal Affairs
investigation, the District Attorney
has blocked the City’s ability
to obtain critical information to
assess its officers’ actions and
compliance with police department
policies and expectations,”
they said in a statement. “From
day one, the city’s focus is on
helping the entire Uvalde community,
parents who lost children,
children who lost parents,
and young survivors navigate
through the healing process.”
OFF-DUTY DALLAS COP FIRED
AFTER SHOOTING AT ANOTHER
OFFICER DURING UBER RIDE
By Ashley Silver, Police1
DALLAS — Last week, a Dallas
police officer was arrested on an
aggravated assault charge and
placed on administrative leave
for allegedly shooting at another
officer while riding together in
an Uber. Now, according to the
Dallas PD, the officer has been
fired following the incident.
According to WFAA News, DPD
officer Anthony Heims is accused
of pointing a gun at the head of
another officer while riding in
the Uber. As the two off-duty
officers struggled for control of
the weapon, the gun discharged,
hitting the sunroof. The Uber
driver called 911, reporting a
back seat passenger had shot a
front seat passenger, according
to the report.
Officers later recovered Heims’
pistol from the front passenger
seat of the vehicle. The officer
in the front seat, according to
WFAA, “was intoxicated” and
told officers he “heard a gunshot
and his ears were ringing.” He
also said he didn’t remember
“how he came to be in possession”
of the pistol, but placed it
on the front passenger seat after
the gunshot.
ARMED SUSPECT AMBUSHES
OKLA. OFFICERS INSIDE TRAILER
Police were searching for a
burglary suspect when they found
him hiding in a storage area under
a bed armed with a pistol
OKLAHOMA CITY — Earlier this
month, three Oklahoma City police
officers went inside a trailer
searching for a burglary suspect
from Missouri. Once inside,
the officers made a potentially
life-threatening discovery.
Police were searching for Timothy
Johnson inside the trailer on
November 15 when they found
him hiding in a storage area under
a bed, KOCO.com reported.
“Shots fired! Shots fired!” an officer
is heard yelling in the video.
Footage captures Johnson
armed with a pistol – pointing it
directly at the responding officers.
“Come out with your hands
up!” another officer yells.
Two officers run for cover, but
one is stuck on the other side of
the trailer. The suspect shoots
again and police return fire into
the bed. In the video, one officer
flies backwards after getting hit
by debris.
“I’m hit. I’m hit. I’m hit. We’re
stuck inside the trailer. I’m hit in
the face,” an officer says.
The officers were able to escape
from the trailer and waited
for a backup tactical team. Five
hours later, police went inside
the trailer and found Johnson
dead from the gunfire exchange.
The shot officer was treated
and later released from a hospital
with non-life-threatening
injuries. The owner of the trailer,
who police said knew the suspect
was armed when granting
officers permission to search,
was arrested for harboring a
fugitive.
$27 BILLION LAWSUIT FILED
AGAINST OFFICERS, AGENCIES
BY UVALDE SCHOOL SHOOTING
FAMILIES
Attorneys hand-delivered a
$27 billion lawsuit related to the
shooting at Robb Elementary to
Uvalde officials Wednesday.
So far, the class-action suit
does not involve immediate relatives
of the 21 people who died
on May 24. Instead, the plaintiffs
are mostly parents of children
who were on campus during the
shooting, away from the classrooms
the gunman attacked,
KENS5 reports.
The plaintiffs named specific
law enforcement officials who
responded to the incident, along
with DPS head Steve McCraw.
They’re also suing the school
district and former UCISD police
chief Pete Arredondo.
The lawsuit states that surviving
children experience nightmares,
severe anxiety, emotional
changes, anger, separation anxiety
and thoughts of suicide.
Parents reportedly want to see
changes with law enforcement
so everyone can feel safe. Survivors
are also demanding policy
changes in the school system as
well.
The lawsuit criticizes the actions
of Uvalde CISD, the Texas
Department of Public Safety,
San Antonio Police Department’s
SWAT unit, Uvalde’s Sheriff’s
office, and Border Patrol saying
they “fundamentally strayed
from conducting themselves
in conformity with what they
knew to be the well-established
protocols and standards for responding
to an active shooter.”
Tuesday one of the parents of
a child killed during the shooting
filed a separate lawsuit against
officers and agencies.
TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida police
chief flashed her badge after she
and her husband were pulled
over by a deputy in a neighboring
county while riding a golf
cart without a license plate
outside of a residential area last
month, authorities said.
According to a body camera
video released by the Tampa
Police Department on Thursday,
Tampa police Chief Mary O’Connor
identified herself as the city’s
top officer, pulled out her badge
and said to a Pinellas County
sheriff’s deputy that “I’m hoping
you’ll just let us go tonight,”
WFLA-TV reported.
She was placed on leave and
now has lots of time to drive
around in her golf cart. Get some
tags Mary.
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