DALLAS (AP) – A Dallas police officer was arrested on Thursday on two capital murder cases after a man told investigators that he kidnapped and murdered two people on behalf of the officer in 2017, authorities said.
Bryan Riser, a 13-year veteran of the police force, was taken into custody Thursday morning and taken to Dallas County Jail for processing, according to a police statement. A lawyer for him could not be immediately identified.
Riser was arrested in the unrelated murders of Liza Saenz, 31, and Albert Douglas, 61, after a man came forward in August 2019 and told police he kidnapped and murdered them on behalf of Riser, Police Chief Eddie Garcia said. during a press conference. He said investigators do not know the motives for the murders, but they were unrelated to Riser’s police work.
“We got information from a witness that implicated Riser in both murders,” Garcia said.
Saenz’s body was pulled from the Trinity River on March 10, 2017, with several gunshot wounds, the chief said. Douglas was reported missing that year and his body has not been found.
Police did not immediately respond to an email asking if the person who implicated Riser in the murders has been charged.
Riser joined the department in 2008 and worked as a patrol officer before his arrest. Garcia acknowledged that Riser had patrolled Dallas while under investigation for murder.
Riser has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation into internal affairs, police said.
“We’re going to speed up our process so that this person is no longer with the department,” said Garcia.
“We will not allow anyone to affect this badge,” said the chief, pointing out that the FBI was assisting in the investigation.
Riser had not been booked into jail early Thursday afternoon, a sheriff spokesman said.
A spokeswoman for the Dallas County district attorney said her office had no information on the case.