According to a report by News One, Dallas police officer, Brian Riser, was kept on the force while he was “secretly investigated for putting out hits on two people,” Lisa Saenz and Albert Douglas.
Riser, a 13-year veteran of the force, was finally arrested on Thursday for ordering the kidnapping and murder of two people in 2017.
Chief Eddie Garcia has admitted to knowing about Riser and the investigation going back to 2019. Garcia, who only took over as Chief this month, says he cannot explain why Riser was kept on the job for so long.
Despite the charges, two counts of capital murder, Riser remains employed by the department. Garcia said the administrative investigation is moving quickly.
Arrests made by Riser are also under review. The FBI and homicide division of Dallas Police Department are both looking into the case.
At this time, there doesn’t appear to be any connection between the two victims. According to an affidavit, as reported by News One, “Saenz was shot and dumped in the river.” The body of Albert Douglas was never found.
Typically, police unions support cops charged with crimes until a case and a trial has been mounted – even in the face of a murder trial. This, we have seen during the many murder trials of police officers charged with killing unarmed Black citizens. However, in this case where the police officer in question is Black, the Dallas police union operated a bit differently and did not offer its support of Riser.
On a conservative radio show, the head of the Dallas Police Association, said Riser should be held accountable and that he was a bad cop who reflected poorly on good cops doing the job.
