Dallas police on Wednesday released edited body-camera footage from a fatal encounter at a Love Field-area apartment, showing the moments before officers shot a man who had called 911 to report he intended to harm himself.
The shooting — the department’s second in a week’s time and third this year — happened Sunday evening in the 5100 block of Lemmon Avenue. Police said the man, identified as James Thomas, 22, charged officers with a box cutter, leading officers to shoot.
Four officers were placed on leave while police and the Dallas County district attorney’s office investigate the shooting. Deputy Chief William Griffith said their investigation determined two of the officers fired their weapons a total of four times.
“Based on the preliminary investigation right now, we believe the officers acted appropriately,” Griffith said during a news conference at Jack Evans Police Headquarters.
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Police published recordings of Thomas calling police twice, once at 7:27 p.m. and again at 7:32 p.m. In the calls, he identified himself, requested officers respond to the apartment and asked them to hurry because he “very much feels like doing harm” to himself.
The edited footage shows four officers outside the apartment as one knocks on the door and announces they’re there to help. Thomas answered the door, holding an object police said was a box cutter, and told the officers to put away their Tasers and draw their guns.
The footage shows Thomas shutting the door on the officers, calling out at one point that he didn’t “want to fu— stab myself, I want to get shot.”
Thomas can be heard in the footage yelling at someone inside the apartment. Fearing someone could be harmed, an officer kicked the door open, Griffith said.
Exec. Asst. Chief Monique Alex said Thomas rushed the officers with the box cutter in hand. Two officers fired their weapons, striking him multiple times.
After the shooting, another officer fired his Taser at Thomas as they worked to restrain him and he “continued to resist,” Alex said. Officers began to render aid, the footage shows. He was transported to a hospital, where he died.
Griffith said the person inside was Thomas’ girlfriend, and that police later determined she had injuries from arguments with Thomas earlier in the day.
Thomas’ call was initially coded as a mental health call. The department has no history of mental-health-related calls involving Thomas, Griffith said.
A RIGHT Care team, a city program that pairs mental health clinicians with paramedics to respond to people in crisis, was not called to the scene. Those teams are typically sent once the area is determined to be safe, Griffith said.
The four officers were dispatched to the call. The department identified them as Roman Castilleja Jr., Manuel Oregel Ruiz, Nicholas Bogush and Matthew Saldana. Castilleja joined Dallas police in March 2021; Bogush in May 2024; and Oregel Ruiz and Saldana in September 2024.
Mental Health ResourcesThe Here For Texas Mental Health Navigation Line: Grant Halliburton Foundation initiative connects North Texans with mental health resources customized to each caller. 972-525-8181 or HereForTexas.com.National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 24-hour crisis hotline at 800-273-8255. Confidential online chat is available at suicidepreventionlifeline.org.Crisis Text Line: To get 24-hour support, text “HOME” to 741741. More information at crisistextline.org.North Texas Behavioral Health Authority: 24-hour crisis hotline. 866-260-8000 or ntbha.org.Suicide and Crisis Center of North Texas: Speak to a trained counselor on the 24-hour hotline at 214-828-1000, 800-273-8255 or sccenter.org.