A police car's lights. Oliver Helbig/Getty Images
After violating the policy of his department during a shooting that resulted in the death of a Texas man, a Texas cop was fired.
Jesse Joseph Fischer was shot and killed in a chase at low speed on Wednesday.
Local news reported that Robert Phillips, Arlington Police Officer, was fired on Friday.
After he shot and killed 40-year-old Man in Texas, a Texas cop was fired from his department for not following the use of force policy. KXAS-TV reported that the incident occurred two days prior.
According to the report, Al Jones, chief of Arlington Police announced that Robert Phillips was being fired at a press conference held on Friday. According to the report, Phillips was on the force for seven year.
Jones also released dashcam and body camera footage from the October 20th incident that led to the death of Jesse Joseph Fischer.
According to The Dallas Morning News, Phillips and another officer responded on Wednesday afternoon to a 911 call regarding Fischer, a man who was slumped in his car while driving along a busy Arlington parkway. According to The Dallas Morning News, Fischer drove away after the officers approached him.
Phillips demanded Fischer turn off his car at an intersection and give him the keys. According to footage taken by WFAA, Fischer drove away again.
According to the WFAA report, the dashcam video captured Fischer trying to turn in a dead-end street cul-de–sac. Phillips then exited his car and fired multiple shots through Fischer's windshield.
Jones stated that he had "examined the video footage in this case" at the Friday press conference. Jones stated that he also reviewed other pertinent items, including interviews that had been conducted. However, he acknowledged that the Dallas Morning News reported that no officer has been fired by the department in the past two days.
He stated, "I don’t believe we’ve ever fired anyone in two days."
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Jones stated that "the facts as they are today will not change." "As a consequence of the administrative review I have decided that it is time to terminate his employment."
Jones stated that Phillips could have taken other measures to avoid firing on Fischer. He also said that Phillips could've stayed in his car "so that he didn’t put himself into a position where he had the need to use deadly force," Dallas Morning News reported.
WFAA reported that Phillips did not follow department policy of not firing at moving cars and only using deadly force when necessary to "protect yourself" or another.
J.P Mason is the president of Arlington Police Association, which represents officers. According to the Dallas Morning News, Mason said that the department must allow for a thorough investigation and review all facts before taking any punitive actions against an officer.
Insider has the original article.
