Ex-cop Gets Probation for Firing 41 Shots Into Pickup, Bringing Chase to a Bloody End

A former Garland officer received nine months' probation for killing an unarmed man when a police chase ended in a hail of gunfire five years ago. Originally charged with manslaughter, Patrick Wayne Tuter pleaded no contest Monday to a lesser count of discharging a firearm in certain municipalities, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in a county jail.Tuter, 37, was accused of firing 41 shots at Michael Vincent Allen in August 2012 after a half-hour chase that reached speeds of 100 mph. The officer —the only one to fire his weapon that night — reloaded at least twice, and three shots struck and killed 25-year-old Allen. Prosecutors in Tuter's trial last year labeled him a "rogue cop" who "acted recklessly" in opening fire in a neighborhood cul-de-sac.A Dallas County jury couldn't agree on a verdict on the manslaughter charge, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and the case ended in a mistrial. A second trial was set to start this week."It's been a nightmare," Allen's father, Randy, said last year. "We were really hoping for some closure." He said his granddaughter remembers her father and prays to him every night. "I wouldn't wish this on anybody," he said.  Continue reading...