A Dallas police officer is in custody and is facing two capital murder charges for the unrelated deaths of two people, a man and a woman who were murdered months apart in 2017.
Dallas Police Department said Thursday afternoon that Police Officer Bryan Riser, a police veteran since 2008, was arrested Thursday morning and is awaiting trial at the Dallas County Jail.
Dallas police chief Eddie Garcia said a witness came forward and implicated Riser in the murder of 30-year-old Lisa Saenz, a woman who was shot multiple times before her body was found in the Trinity River in March 2017.
In September 2017, NBC 5 reported that three people had been arrested and charged with the murder of Saenz: 28-year-old Kevin Kidd, 31-year-old Emmanuel Kilpatrick and 35-year-old Jermon Simmons. So far none of the men have been tried, and court records show that Kidd is dealing with two murder charges, while Kilpatrick and Simmons have three charges of murder pending.
On August 14, 2019, the witness told police that he kidnapped and murdered Saenz at Riser.
Garcia said the witness had also told police he had been ordered by Riser to kidnap and murder Aubrey Douglas, who was reported missing in February 2017. Garcia said witnesses said Douglas was kidnapped and murdered at the same location as Saenz.
Douglas’s body, Garcia said, has not been found.
An affidavit will be released later today detailing the investigations into the murders.
“Although he is in custody, he is on administrative leave pending the outcome of an Internal Affairs administrative inquiry,” Dallas police said in a statement.
In May 2017, Riser was arrested after being charged with felony, assault and domestic violence resulting in bodily harm. An investigation was conducted by Internal Affairs at the time, although the results of that investigation are not yet known and Garcia declined on Thursday afternoon to share additional details about the outcome of that investigation.
Dallas Police said Riser had been with the department since August 2008 and was assigned to the South-Central Patrol Division. Garcia said they will look at Riser’s arrest report in light of the charges against him.
Garcia said the department was conducting an administrative investigation into Riser and is moving towards termination.
“This person has nothing to do with wearing this uniform. That’s just not that I’m saying that as a police chief, I guarantee that every man and woman who wears this uniform doing this job with honor, doesn’t want anyone to have our badge, ”said Garcia.
Garcia defended his department and officers, saying that Riser does not represent the many men and women who guard the city on a daily basis.
“We hire people from the human race and when we find individuals like this one, we need to be judged by the actions we take next,” Garcia said. “We will hold ourselves accountable at the highest level.”
“The actions investigated in no way reflect the actions of the men and women who proudly wear this uniform and it certainly does not reflect the heroic, professional and dedicated sacrifices I’ve seen since my arrival,” said Garcia. However, let me be clear in a pledge to our city and to our men and women who serve daily with honor, that we will not allow anyone to tarnish this emblem. As we all know, the actions of a few affect the many. I, we, have committed to taking the criminal element off the streets of the city of Dallas, to ruthlessly persecute anyone who harms this city, including within the walls of this police station. ”
A bond amount has not been confirmed and it is not clear whether Riser has been given an attorney.