Ft. Worth Criminal Attorneys

Man arrested for wearing old jacket from "The Colony Police Department"

2009-12-17T20:53:48Z

Used coat with communications police patch from "The Colony Police Department" gets man arrested for impersonating a police officer.

A Texas City man was charged with impersonating a law enforcement officer as he was arrested for public intoxication. Police stopped the man for swerving on the road on his bicycle around 11:30 pm, and he reportedly reeked of alcohol. The officer then noticed that the man's jacket had a patch that said 'The Colony Police Department', and added the more serious extra offense.

]]> Texas City officials emailed a photo of the jacket and the patch to The Colony police. The response was that it was a standard issue jacket for police dispatchers in that North Texas suburb of Dallas, and that the design had been last used over ten years ago. There was no metal badge and the patch did say 'Communications' but that did not deter the Texas City police from standing by the charges. They claim it was hard to read the details of the patch and that the jacket looked like one an officer would wear.

The unidentified 20-year suspect said that a friend had given him the jacket. It is suspected that it had ended up in a thrift store. The district attorney's office is reviewing the case.

Fort Worth taser death ruled a homicide by Tarrant County Medical Examiner

2009-12-01T17:18:26Z

A Fort Worth medical examiner has ruled that the death of a mentally ill man is a homicide, after the victim had been tasered twice by Fort Worth Police Officers.

The family of Michael Patrick Jacobs, Jr. called the Fort Worth Police Department for help after he started causing problems while being off his medication for bi-polar disorder. When police arrived they felt 24-year old Jacobs was combative and they stunned him with a taser gun twice, once for 49 seconds and then another 5 seconds after a one second pause. Taser guns apply a 50,000 volt shock that causes muscles to lock up by over-stimulating the nervous system.

Jacobs began having difficulties breathing while he was being handcuffed, though reportedly the police waved off a paramedic crew. When Jacobs collapsed, they called paramedics back to the scene, but did not initiate CPR. Paramedics could not revive Jacobs either at the scene or at the emergency room, and he was pronounced dead about an hour after the taser had been used on him.

]]> An autopsy revealed that Jacobs had not ingested drugs or alcohol, and he did not show electrolyte imbalances, heart or lung disease or signs of illness that could have been a contributing factor to his death. The Tarrant County ME ruled the cause of death

"incapacitation due to application of a conducted energy device."

The Fort Worth police chief said that the medical examiner's report would help them conclude their investigation, and said that all information would be shared with the Tarrant County District Attorney.

The FWPD began using tasers in 2001. They have been deployed 1,360 times, resulting in four deaths. Jacobs case is the first, however, to be ruled a homicide.

Texas DPS Trooper resigns after excessive force during a DWI arrest

2009-12-01T17:02:33Z

Videotape shows Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Arturo Perez slamming a 22 year old woman into concrete barrier while handcuffed.

The trooper who is the subject of an investigation by the Texas Rangers for using excessive force during a DWI arrest on the Dallas North Tollway, has retired from the Texas Department of Public Safety. Arturo Perez responded to a single vehicle accident on the Dallas North Tollway on October 11, 2009 at around 3 in the morning. The 22-year old woman driving the vehicle was suspected of driving while intoxicated in Dallas, and Tropper Perez initiated a field investigation. The suspect reportedly failed several field sobriety tests and smelled of alcohol. As Perez was walking the woman to his squad car, she jerked and tried to walk away from him. Perez warned her not to resist or she would get hurt.

The video camera in his cruiser then captured images of him jerking the woman in an effort to take her to the ground. Instead, the officer ended up pushing the handcuffed woman chin first into a concrete ledge with such force that her feet left the ground. She then collapsed "like a sack of potatoes." Perez denied using excessive force, saying it was not his intent to hurt her.

]]> Perez, 42, joined the Department of Public safety three years ago, after working 16 years for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. On October 23, 2009 the DPS director initiated a process to fire Perez for misconduct that included the excessive force incident. Perez retired before that process was complete. Despite the resignation, the Texas Rangers investigation of the use of excessive force during the DWI arrest will continue. Its findings will be presented to Dallas County prosecutors.

Dallas Mavericks Coach Popeye Jones Arrested for DWI in Richardson

2009-12-01T16:44:28Z

Popeye Jones, an 11 year veteran with the NBA and current assistant coach for the Dallas Mavericks, was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated Sunday November 1, 2009 in Richardson, Texas. The Richardson Police Department received several phone calls from motorists about an erratic driver in a GMC Yukon. After being stopped, Jones refused to submit to a breath test to check his blood alcohol content. The Richardson Police Officers felt there was enough evidence of intoxication to initiate an arrest for DWI.

]]> There was reportedly a minor struggle as police tried to arrest the 6'8" former power forward and Jones suffered minor facial cuts.

Mark Cuban, owner of the Mavericks, declined comment, instead asking the press if they reported every DWI in the DFW Metroplex.

Dallas Cowboys stadium manager guilty of DWI in Tarrant County

2009-12-01T16:37:46Z

The General Manager of the new Dallas Cowboys stadium entered a plea of guilty to charges of driving while intoxicated in Tarrant County. Jack Hill was then sentenced to 15 days on the county sheriff's labor detail and fined $925.

The Tarrant County district attorney's office initially sought 2 years of probation, a standard penalty for first offense DWI. Hill requested a jail sentence instead, to which the DA recommended 60 days and opposed the option of a labor detail. Hill, however, did not enter into a plea agreement with the DA and asked the judge to issue sentencing.

]]> Hill, 54, was arrested for a DWI in Arlington on June 7, 2009 after causing an accident near the new Dallas Cowboys stadium within hours of its first public event. He managed the construction on the huge facility in Arlington. The Dallas Cowboys organization said that Hill continues to serve as the stadium general manager.