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TX Cop Fired 2 Days After Killing Man During Low Speed Pursuit

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  • TX Cop Fired 2 Days After Killing Man During Low Speed Pursuit

    Now this is the sort of response I like to see from a police department. No hiding behind things, no squirrely language trying to defend a bad cop, no delays in releasing info, no months long investigations that go nowhere and are initiated just to make it look like they're doing something. Just a straightforward and fast investigation and prompt firing of the bad actor.

    Officer Robert Phillips responded Wednesday to a call of a man - Jesse Joseph Fischer - slumped in his vehicle on a busy parkway. When police arrived and approached, Fischer drove off at low speeds. The police followed, and at an intersection demanded he turn the car off and throw his keys out the window. Fischer drove further, eventually to a cul-de-sac, where he attempted to make a U-turn at the end. Phillips (I guess he was mad that Fischer had not stopped) got out of his squad car, and fired his gun multiple times through Fischer's windshield as he tried to U-turn, killing Fischer.

    The chief of police fired him Friday, after investigating and reviewing the footage.

    Of course, the Arlington Police Association is having a little snit that he was fired so quickly, and want him reinstated.


    A Texas cop was terminated Friday for violating his police department's use of force policy after he shot and killed a 40-year-old man following a low-speed pursuit that occurred two days earlier, KXAS-TV first reported.

    Arlington Police Chief Al Jones announced the firing of officer Robert Phillips at a press conference on Friday, according to the report. Phillips had been on the force for seven years, the report said.

    Jones also released the body camera and dashcam footage from the October 20 incident that resulted in the death of the man identified by police as Jesse Joseph Fischer.

    On Wednesday afternoon, Phillips and another officer responded to a 911 call about a man, Fischer, slumped over in his vehicle while on a busy parkway in Arlington, Texas, The Dallas Morning News reported. According to the report, when the officers approached Fischer, he drove off.

    When Fischer stopped at an intersection, Phillips demanded that he turn his car off and "throw the keys out," according to the footage obtained by WFAA. Fischer drove away again.

    The dashcam video showed the moment Fischer turned around and attempted to make a U-turn in a dead-end cul-de-sac, leading Phillips to exit his vehicle and fire his weapon multiple times through Fischer's windshield, according to the WFAA report.

    At the Friday press conference, Jones said he "thoroughly reviewed the video footage for this case. I reviewed other relevant items as well including interviews that have been conducted," although he recognized that the department has not fired an officer in two days, according to the Dallas Morning News.

    "I don't think we've ever fired anybody in two days," he said.

    "The facts as we know them today are not going to change," Jones added. "As a result of the administrative review, I have decided to terminate his employment."

    Jones said that Phillips could have taken different measures to avoid shooting Fischer, stating that he could have remained in his vehicle "so he didn't put himself in a situation where he had to use deadly force," Dallas Morning News reported.

    WFAA reported Phillips failed to follow the department's policy to not fire at a moving car and to only use deadly use of force when necessary in cases to "protect yourself or someone else."

    J.P Mason, the President of the Arlington Police Association that represents officers, said the "department needs to allow the total investigation to be done and all the facts reviewed before taking such punitive action against the officer," the Dallas Morning News reported.
    Now time for charges to be filed - let's see if the rest of the local justice system is as effective as the Chief, or if they fail to do justice.

  • #2
    If I'm not mistaken, Arlington PD has a Police Officers' Association, not a police union.
    The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
      If I'm not mistaken, Arlington PD has a Police Officers' Association, not a police union.
      I actually wondered the same when I first read it. From what I could see, that's the case (or else they're a union that calls themselves the Arlington Police Association, and don't call themselves a union). They're throwing a fit currently, and want the officer reinstated, but AFAICT they don't have the typical power a union would in protecting him.

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Gondwanaland View Post

        I actually wondered the same when I first read it. From what I could see, that's the case (or else they're a union that calls themselves the Arlington Police Association, and don't call themselves a union). They're throwing a fit currently, and want the officer reinstated, but AFAICT they don't have the typical power a union would in protecting him.
        This would be a tremendous opportunity for the APA to simply state "we can't condone what happened, and we express our sincere condolence to the family....."
        The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

        Comment


        • #5
          The quick termination might also help absolve the department in a civil suit. Might.

          Comment


          • #6
            You didn't give a link to the article in the OP.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Sparko View Post
              You didn't give a link to the article in the OP.
              Oh well. You can google the article text..

              Comment


              • #8
                Anything new on this?
                The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                Comment


                • #9
                  This is interesting from the Police Union...

                  Despite the firing, the local officers' union, the Arlington Police Association, stated that Phillips' job should be reinstated, as he reportedly felt threatened by Fischer's behavior.

                  "I call on the department to reverse this hasty decision today and immediately reinstate this officer," said the president of the Arlington Police Association, Officer J.P. Mason. "They are handing down judgments without giving time for a complete investigation."

                  "The department needs to allow the total investigation to be done and all the facts reviewed before taking such punitive action against the officer," Mason continued.


                  But a great case was made by the Chief....

                  The chief of the Arlington Police Department, Al Jones, confirmed in a press conference Friday that the officer had been fired and identified him as veteran officer Robert Phillips.

                  "[The facts are] not going to change tomorrow. They're not going to change six months from now...As a result of the administrative review, I have decided to terminate his employment," Chief Jones told reporters.

                  The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    More from the Police Chief...

                    “(Phillips) could have backed up behind (his) vehicle and allowed the vehicle to go by,” Jones said. “He could have stayed in his vehicle so he didn’t put himself in a situation where he had to use deadly force," or he could have used the vehicle to block Fischer on the dead-end street.


                    Clearly, deadly force was absolutely not justified.
                    The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                    Comment

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