A Texas police officer was beaten unconscious after he responded to a group of people who were outside a Dallas apartment complex’s swimming pool on the evening of June 25.
The deputy from the Dallas Police Department was off duty at the time of the incident and works as a “courtesy patrol officer” at the complex, local news affiliate WFAA reported.
The unnamed officer received a disturbance call about a small crowd of people who were hanging around the swimming pool area around 9 p.m. that evening, despite the pool being closed.
The patrol officer attempted to disperse the group, telling them he responded to a call and asked them to leave the area. A portion of the people left, but three or four stayed and reportedly started talking about Black Lives Matter, WFAA reported.
Once the off-duty officer started to take pictures of the vehicles allegedly owned by the people, the group allegedly beat the officer until he was unconscious.
“As the officer was walking away he was assaulted by multiple individuals and fell to the ground,” the department wrote in a news release.
The officer was hospitalized with injuries to the back of his head, scrapes to his hands, and a bloody lip. He is expected to fully recover, WFAA reported, citing Dallas Police Association President Michael Mata.
Officials said no arrests have been made so far and detectives are now asking the public for help in finding information on possible suspects.
If anyone had any information on possible suspects regarding the assault on a public servant at 4300 Horizon North Parkway, please contact Detective Billings at 214-671-3083 https://t.co/lqsDMCYWfG
— Dallas Police Dept (@DallasPD) June 27, 2020
Assault on Texas Officer
In another Texas city on the same day, a police officer from Plano was stabbed after he responded to a car accident on Independence Parkway and Legacy Drive, KDFW reported.
The Associated Press, citing Plano Police Department spokesman David Tilley, reported that as the officer arrived, one of the drivers got a knife out of her car and began stabbing the other driver. When the officer tried to intervene, the woman stabbed him in the arm and then tried to get into the passenger side of the other driver’s car, he said.
Other reports said that as the officer approached one of the vehicles, a woman got out of the driver’s seat and attacked him with a knife, stabbing him in the arm, officials said.
The officer then retreated, noticing that the suspect was running to the other vehicle to attack the other driver. The officer then fired several shots, killing the suspect as she was stabbing the other driver, according to the report.
Tilley told CBS Dallas that the officer doesn’t “appear to have life-threatening injuries” after the stabbing. The other driver was stabbed several times and was hospitalized.
Police haven’t determined a motive in the attack.
Jack Phillips and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
