Dallas Police say Chief Eddie Garcia fired two officers this week, one for inappropriate force and another for inappropriate sexual comments.
According to the Dallas Police Department, Sr. Cpl. Lontrell Tatum was fired after investigators said he used pepper spray on a woman handcuffed in the back of his police car.
The department said Tatum used unnecessary force against a citizen, used profane language while speaking to a citizen, failed to secure a prisoner with a seatbelt, and violated the department’s Body Worn Camera policy. The department said Tatum also gave "verbal inconsistent, conflicting or misleading statements regarding use of OC spray," and failed to "provide medical treatment to a prisoner after exposing them to OC spray."
Our partners at The Dallas Morning News reported the officer claimed the woman yelled racist slurs at him and denied spraying her with pepper spray.
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The department said they also fired police officer Carlos Garcia Romero after he allegedly made inappropriate sexual comments to a woman during a service call. Romero, the department said, also violated the department's policy on the use of body-worn cameras.
"We have a standard. I have a standard. I owe it, we owe it to our community and to the men and women of this department. When we're right, I will vehemently support my people when we're right. But when we're wrong, we're going to hold ourselves accountable and that's what we're going to continue to do," Garcia said Friday.
According to the paper, the officers were represented in the disciplinary hearings by Dallas Police Association president Jaime Castro who declined to comment.
