On Friday, DeSoto Police and City Officials held a briefing where they released four videos related to Monday’s officer-involved shooting of a burglary suspect who entered a residence on the 300 block of Polk Street brandishing a homemade edged weapon, similar to a knife.
On March 26, 47-year-old Michael Nunez was arrested by police officers at an area park and charged with littering. Officers arrested Nunez because he was knocking over trash cans and acting irrationally. Following his arrest, he was held overnight at the DeSoto jail. Chief Costa said during the briefing, his mother had called that morning asking her son be held, however he had already been released.”
“The officers with the Care Team didn’t realize he’d already been released. They were working with the mother and they called the jail to hold up his release but he had already been released,” Costa said.
The resident called 9-1-1 reporting there was an intruder in her home. By the time police arrived the suspect was outside of the home. When police responded to the call, they were unaware the suspect was Nunez and had just been released for acting erratically or that the Care Team was speaking with his mother.
The video released show the encounter between responding police and the suspect outside of the resident’s home.
“We are sharing these video recordings for the same reasons that we asked Grand Prairie Police and the Dallas County District Attorney’s Public Integrity Division to conduct the investigations into this incident…transparency,” noted DeSoto Police Chief Joseph Costa. “We want the DeSoto Community to know, with certainty, what happened during Monday’s tragic incident, and that the ensuing investigative process has been and will be both thorough and professional.”
DeSoto Police released 4 video tapes and additional information related to Monday’s incident. Two of the videotapes feature bodycam recordings from the two responding officers and two additional tapes show what was recorded on their dashcam videos. They are posted on the City’s YouTube Channel at the following locations online:
Bodycam of first responding officer: https://youtu.be/wK7m06Lbh1w
Bodycam of second responding officer: https://youtu.be/aXHOHQ5JUC8
Dashcam of first responding officer: https://youtu.be/G5oKY8a3eys
Dashcam of second responding officer: https://youtu.be/z6WhLNqQtPo
9-1-1 call from Polk Street Resident: https://youtu.be/pWOV1_D1URc
Dashcam Photos: https://youtu.be/0dANYl1Y1_g
“The tragic events that took place in our community on Monday need to be addressed for the purposes of transparency and healing,” said DeSoto Mayor Rachel L. Proctor who was present at the video release. “DeSoto is a close-knit community, and a community of prayer, and I ask all who are watching this to come together and pray for those impacted by Monday’s events.”
DeSoto Police scheduled the release of these materials after confirming with Grand Prairie Police investigators that their release would not interfere with their investigation. The officer remains on administrative leave while the shooting is being investigated.
