Jaime Resendez
In a statement, the mayor said, This is an awful situation, and the public deserves answers regarding who knew what, when they knew it, and why the officer remained on active duty. I fully expect this committee to get to the bottom of exactly what transpired in a fair, judicious, and transparent manner.”
Last week former Dallas Chief of Police Renee Hall said in a statement on Thursday that: DPD Special Investigations Unit, in collaboration with the FBI, recommended not placing Riser on administrative leave. Taking that action could have compromised the investigation.
But the next day FBI Special Agent in Charge Matthew DeSarno flatly denied his agents made such a suggestion.
Jaime Resendez
In an email newsletter sent out to constituents, Johnson also wrote that he was “going to push for answers.”
“While the case remains under investigation and all the evidence needs to be heard, it was sickening to learn of the allegations on Thursday,” the mayor said in the newsletter. “Justice must be served in this case. The loved ones of the victims, especially, should hear the truth.”
In the newsletter, he wrote that the situation raises “a host of other questions about decision-making from those in charge at the city level.”
“The city manager, to whom Chief Hall reported, and others need to account for this situation,” the mayor wrote in the newsletter. “Why was this decision made to leave him on duty? Who knew about it? When did they know? And what exactly, if anything, did investigators gain from that decision?”