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Dallas' former police chief said the department allowed an officer who was being investigated for allegedly ordering two killings to remain on the force for over a year in order to not tip him off to the investigation.
U. Reneé Hall, who left the department last year, told The Dallas Morning News that the decision to keep the officer on duty was made in collaboration with the Dallas County district attorney's office and federal law enforcement.
"Doing anything different, we may not have been able to bring justice to the families," she told the outlet.
Officer Bryan Riser has been charged with two counts of capital murder in connection to the two killings that occurred in 2017. Riser has been accused of ordering the killings of Lisa Saenz, 31, and Albert Douglas, 61.
Current Dallas Police Chief Eric Garcia announced the charges against Riser on Thursday.
Garcia said Riser was not on duty at the time of either of the killings, though was kept on the police force more than a year after authorities became aware of the allegations.
The police chief said a person came forward in 2019 saying he killed and kidnapped both Saenz and Douglas in separate attacks, though Garica did not say why Riser was arrested nearly two years later, The Associated Press reported.
Three men were reportedly charged with capital murder in the killing of Saenz, the AP noted.
Riser worked for the Dallas Police Department since 2008. He was arrested Thursday.