An arrest warrant was issued Wednesday for a Dallas police officer on a charge of official oppression.
The misdemeanor charge against Sgt. James Cullen Bristo, 59, stems from an incident in August. Official oppression involves accusations that a public servant has used his office to mistreat someone or deny them their rights.
Police declined to provide any additional information about the case, referring a reporter back to a five-sentence Facebook post announcing the warrant.
Bristo’s attorney, Robert Rogers, had no comment Wednesday afternoon.
Bristo is on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation, police said. He was expected to turn himself in to authorities, but it was unclear whether he had done so.
On Wednesday afternoon, Bristo posted on Facebook asking for prayers.
“I can’t go into details, but today is turning out to be an exceptionally bad day,” he wrote. “There [is] some major stuff going on that I need direction [and] peace with. My heart is hurting.”
Bristo has been with the department since 1988 and is assigned to the South Central patrol division.
In August 2020, he was arrested on a charge of driving while intoxicated in Irving. Officers said he was asleep at the wheel of a pickup in a parking lot and that, after he drove off and was pulled over, he told officers he had been at a whiskey tasting.
The case was dismissed in February 2021 after a judge found there was no reasonable suspicion for the traffic stop.
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