Dallas Cop Suspect of Two Counts of Capital Murder Kept Job for Years
March 10, 2021

A Dallas police officer charged with two counts of capital murder was fired on Tuesday – and the public is asking why the termination didn’t come sooner.

Officer Bryan Riser was identified as “person of interest” last year in alleged murder-for-hire schemes, but was kept on the job to avoid tipping him off to the investigation. This is according to former Dallas Police Chief Renee Hall who told the media that putting him on leave “could have compromised the investigation.”

But now information has surfaced that Riser was actually the “subject” of the homicide investigation as far back as 2017. He was also involved in multiple internal affairs investigations that same year into alleged unethical behavior. Still, he continued to patrol the streets of Dallas for several years, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Riser has been employed by the Dallas Police Department since 2008. He is accused of offering to pay three men to kidnap and kill 31-year-old Liza Saenz and 61-year-old Albert Douglas. Douglas was reported missing in 2017 and his body hasn’t been found. Saenz’s body was pulled from the Trinity River in March 2017.

Riser’s defense attorney, Toby Shook, said his client has denied any involvement in the two murders. He called the case “strange” and suggested that if police really thought his client was involved they would have arrested and fired him sooner.

“He’s driving around, patrolling, doing his job every day with a gun, without incident for nearly two years,” Shook told the Associated Press. “If you really though he was involved in this why would you move on him sooner.”=

Earlier this week, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson created a committee to investigate why Riser was allowed to remain on the force amid a capital murder investigation.

Dallas new Police Chief Eddie Garcia said he had not been briefed on the investigation until last week and, the next day, ordered Riser’s arrest.

To be sure, Riser’s delayed arrest and firing will be a focal point in his trial. Stay tuned. This one has lots of twists and turns and is worth watching.

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George Floyd: Jury Selection Begins in Trial of Ex-Cop Derek Chauvin
March 9, 2021

Jury selection is expected to begin today in the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s death.

Derek Chauvin is accused of killing Floyd by kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes. He is charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter. Prosecutors are also hoping to reinstate a third-degree murder charge — an issue that delayed the start of the jury selection yesterday.

While we wait for that legal issue to be resolved – determining exactly what charges Chauvin will be tried on – we are highlighting some interesting facts about jury selection in this trial:

• Jury selection is expected to last about three weeks, as prosecutors work to select 12 jurors and four alternates. This is not uncommon in high-profile trials as they work to find an impartial jury who have not been influenced by all the media coverage and will be able to judge Chauvin fairly.
• Each potential juror has been asked to fill out a 14 to 16-page questionnaire about the case.
• Questions include:
  • How many times did you see the video of George Floyd’s death?
  • Did you participate in marches against police brutality and, if so, did you carry a sign?
  • What are your views of the Blue Lives Matter – the movement supporting police.
• How potential jurors answer these written questions — and how they later answer verbal one-on-one questioning by the prosecution and defense — will determine whether they get dismissed, or struck, from the jury pool.
• The chosen jurors will be partially sequestered during the trial and fully sequestered once jury deliberation starts. They will also remain anonymous — identified by number and not name — until the judge allows their identities to remain public.
• Due to the pandemic, jurors will be spaced out and required to wear masks.

Opening statements are not expected to begin until at least March 29. This is a trial we will be watching and the VS News Desk will keep you informed on the latest happenings.

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Texas Courts Cleared for In-Person Trials
March 8, 2021

On March 5, the Texas Supreme Court cleared the way for courts to open up again. In-person hearings and jury trials are now permitted across the state of Texas.

Requirements that people wear masks and social distance will be left up to local and county court officials.

This new order by the high court comes just days after Gov. Greg Abbott announced he will lift coronavirus restrictions this week.

Clearing the way for courts to open back up is certainly going to create some chaos and confusions in large counties, as courts struggle to find a way to knock down the backlog of cases created by the pandemic.

In Tarrant County, for example, there are currently 27,000 pending misdemeanors and 23,000 pending felonies. The local judges have proposed a plan to start tackling this backlog.

With the Supreme Court’s new order, we assume this plan will be put into place in the coming days and weeks

So what does this mean to people who are waiting for their day in court?

You may be getting it soon.