Dallas police Chief Eddie Garcia showed body camera video and spoke out about Tuesday's shooting involving a man suspected of stealing a U-Haul truck and leading police on a chase before he was shot.
Garcia said Dallas police were doing surveillance Tuesday on a stolen U-Haul truck that was parked along El Centro Drive.
The preliminary investigation showed officers saw the suspect get into the truck and drive away. Covert officers called uniformed officers to do a felony stop on the truck. Garcia said that's when the suspect, 41-year-old Ryan Taylor, intentionally backed into a covert vehicle causing the airbags to deploy and pushing them into a fire hydrant.
Uniformed officers tried to stop him, but he sped away on side streets and onto the Dallas North Tollway. Garcia said for 13 minutes Taylor refused to stop for officers, intentionally hitting 13 vehicles.
The chief said Taylor got off the tollway, hit more cars, and then hit a tree on Lemmon Avenue. Garcia said he abandoned the truck and ran towards an open bay door of a private hangar building.
Officers ran after the suspect and said he fired twice at one of them. Ofc. Kennan Craven returned fire, striking Taylor in the leg. They took him into custody and started medical treatment. No serious injuries to those involved in crashes.
"This man had absolutely no regard for human life, recklessly hitting drivers and putting other lives in jeopardy, then he turned and tried to kill one of my police officers," Garcia said. "Ofc. Craven needed to be a warrior that day, and he answered his call. His bravery is to be commended, and the residents in the city of Dallas should be proud of Ofc. Craven."
Taylor will be charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault with a public servant among other charges.
This is the fifth officer-involved shooting involving a Dallas police officer in 2023.
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