Dallas Police shot and killed James Harper on Tuesday after he evaded arrest and fought with police. Instead of obeying a Dallas Police officer’s order that he stop and surrender, James Harper, according to a woman who witnessed the two men fighting in her backyard, continued ”tussling” with the police officer. The officer said that when he repeatedly ordered the suspect to stop resisting arrest, the suspect said ”you’re going to have to kill me.” James Harper’s police record shows that he was previously charged with assault on a security officer; unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon; assault on a public servant and evading arrest, in addition to several drug charges .
Many residents took to the streets angrily protesting the shooting. Evidently, quite a few people in the South Dallas area think that the police should not shoot suspects who fight them when they attempt an arrest. Every responsible parent teaches their children to never resist the police and to always be courteous to the police. They teach their children that police are more likely to respond positively to people who show them respect than to people who show them disrespect. A responsible parent teaches his children that under no circumstances should they try to run from or fight with a policeman who is attempting to question or arrest them. Sure, there is the occasional bad officer who does not perform his duties as he should, but most policemen will respond better to courtesy than to confrontation.
From CBS DFW:
In an evening news conference, Chief David Brown said that police responded to an emergency call that a victim had been tied up and dragged into a home by “five to six Latin males, all with guns.” Three officers responded to the call and surrounded the home. When police knocked on the door, Brown said, they heard “scurrying” inside the house and windows being broken.
The three officers soon gave chase to four fleeing suspects. One of whom was 31-year-old James Harper. Officer Brian Rowden, an eight-year Dallas Police Department veteran, chased Harper through an alley and over three separate fences, Brown said.
A witness in South Dallas shooting tells what she saw.
From CBS DFW:
The 82-year-old witness, who does not want be identified for fear of retribution, says both men were wrestling in her backyard. However, the witness says she did not see any punches being thrown.
“Tussling. They were like fighting,” recalled the witness, “He’s trying to push the police back and the police is trying to pull him to put the cuffs on him,” she added.
The witness says she watched the altercation from her back patio. She says it appeared that officer Rowden had gotten the upper hand, because the officer was standing over Harper as Harper laid on the ground. “The police was standing over that boy. He was holding his gun and he was telling him to let him handcuff him,” explained the witness.
Dallas police say officer Rowden may have lost the upper hand when he tried to handcuff the suspect. DPD Spokesman, Lt. Scott Walton, says the officer likely secured his weapon, because he needed both hands to cuff Harper.
Lt. Walton says as the officer tried to handcuff Harper, the suspect started fighting back. “At this time, Mr. Harper said you’re going to have to kill me,” said Dallas Police Chief David Brown during a Tuesday night news conference. “Officer Rowden fearing for his life, pulled out his weapon, being beaten by Mr. Harper, shot Mr. Harper,” Chief Brown added.
The witness, however, never saw or heard this account because she had gone inside her house to call 911. “When I’m talking to 911, the gun goes off. I come back to the door and I see this boy laying like that,” the witness said.
More from myFoxdfw.com
The shooting happened at about 5:30 p.m. at a known drug house in the 5300 block of Bourquin Street while, according to Dallas Police Chief David Brown, police were responding to a kidnapping call.
Brown said four suspects fled the house via various means, including by breaking windows. He said officers saw a gun on a table in the house and that crack cocaine was also present.
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