Pepper Spray-Wielding Officers Investigated

Law enforcement officers in Dallas are under investigation because Michael Reyes, age nineteen, says the officers drove him to a different neighborhood, hit him with pepper spray, then left him.

His account does not match up with what the officers involved have to say.

Police responded to a “prowler call” alleging that a man armed with a shotgun tried to enter a private residence and asked 77-year-old Mr. Estrello, an Alzheimer’s patient, for money. His daughter, Delma Franks, said her father didn’t know the man and refused to let him in even though the prowler claimed to know him.

In separate written accounts both Officer Michael Loeb and Senior Corporal Antonio Lopez stated that an armed man knocked on Estrello’s door and demanded money. They found a man matching the suspect’s description nearby and he was identified by a witness. Both reports state that Reyes said he had been stranded in the neighborhood and that he asked the officers for a ride.

The officers transported Reyes to West Dallas where he asked them to stop at an intersection and let him out. As Loeb walked around the car to let Reyes out he claims to have bumped into a side mirror which caused his pepper spray canister to malfunction, spraying both officers, the rookie accompanying Lopez, and the suspect.

Police Chief David Kunkle said, “We’re investigating first whether a crime occurred involving our officers and then, depending on what we find or don’t find, it may go to Internal Affairs.”