DALLAS — The police officer who took down the gunman during last month’s mass shooting at Allen Premium Outlets was cleared Tuesday of any wrongdoing.
A Collin County grand jury declined to indict the Allen police officer. Allen police said in a news release Wednesday the decision “indicates that the use of force was justified under Texas law.”
The officer has repeatedly declined interview requests through his attorney and his name has not been released publicly. Zach Horn, the officer’s attorney, declined to comment.
It was not clear what the grand jury considered as proceedings are private and the district attorney’s office declined to provide details. It is common for officer use of force cases to be referred to a grand jury for a determination on whether their actions were justified.
Allen police released body-camera footage Wednesday showing the officer’s response when a gunman opened fire outside the mall May 6, killing eight people, wounding at least seven others and traumatizing score more.
Kevin Lawrence, executive director of the Texas Municipal Police Association, told The Dallas Morning News the footage shows the officer was “tactically sound” and did what cops are trained to do.
He said prosecutors increasingly submit officer use-of-force cases to the grand jury rather than make a determination whether the actions are justified. He said the referral could be out of an abundance of caution, if there’s a personal conflict or to make sure there’s “no hint of any kind of a coverup.”
“Anytime one human being takes another human life, you’ve gotta have the legal review,” Lawrence said. “We understand that.”
The video footage shows that just before the gunfire began, the officer stopped to talk to a woman and children about seatbelt safety.
Officials have said the gunman was killed less than five minutes after he fired the first shots.
The Texas Rangers are investigating the shooting, which authorities have released little information about since the massacre. The Dallas Morning News filed at least 70 public records requests with local, state and federal authorities for videos and other documents to assemble a complete picture of how the tragedy unfolded.
The shopping center reopened May 31 with increased security. A permanent memorial “to honor the victims and to commemorate the enduring strength of the Allen community” is in the works, mall officials said last month.
