A Dallas police officer is in custody and is facing two charges of capital murder from the unrelated deaths of two people, a man and a woman killed months apart in 2017.
Dallas police said Thursday afternoon that Police Officer Bryan Riser, a veteran of the force since 2008, was arrested Thursday morning and is awaiting processing at the Dallas County Jail.
Dallas Chief of Police Eddie Garcia said a witness came forward and implicated Riser in the murder of 30-year-old Lisa Saenz, a woman who was shot multiple times before her body was found in the Trinity River in March 2017.
In September 2017, NBC 5 reported three people had been arrested and charged with Saenz’s murder — 28-year-old Kevin Kidd, 31-year-old Emmanuel Kilpatrick and 35-year-old Jermon Simmons. So far, none of the men have been to trial and court records show Kidd has two murder charges pending while Kilpatrick and Simmons have three murder charges still pending.
On Aug. 14, 2019, the witness told police that he kidnapped and murdered Saenz at Riser’s direction.
Garcia said the witness also told police he was instructed by Riser to kidnap and kill Aubrey Douglas who was reported missing in February 2017. Garcia said witnesses said Douglas had been kidnapped and murdered in the same location as Saenz.
Douglas’ body, Garcia said, has not been found.
An arrest affidavit will be released later in the day detailing the investigations into the murders.
“Although he is in custody, he is on administrative leave pending the outcome of an Internal Affairs administrative investigation,” Dallas police said in a statement.
In May 2017, Riser was arrested after being accused of misdemeanor assault family violence causing bodily injury. An Internal Affairs investigation was done at the time, though the results of that investigation are not yet known and Garcia declined to share any additional details about the result of that investigation Thursday afternoon.
Dallas police said Riser has been with the department since August 2008 and had been assigned to the South-Central Patrol Division. Garcia said they will be looking at Riser’s arrest record in light of the charges against him.
Garcia said the department was conducting an administrative investigation into Riser and are moving toward termination.
“This individual has no business wearing this uniform. That’s just not me saying that as police chief, I guarantee you every man and woman that wears this uniform that does this job honorably does not want anyone tarnishing our badge,” Garcia said.
Garcia defended his department and officers, saying Riser does not represent the many men and women who police the city daily.
“We hire individuals from the human race and when we find individuals such as this it’s the actions that we take afterward that we should be judged by,” Garcia said. “We will hold ourselves accountable to the highest levels.”
“The actions that have been investigated in no way reflect the actions of the men and women who proudly wear this uniform and it certainly does not reflect on the heroic, professional and dedicated sacrifices that I have witnessed since arriving,” Garcia said. “However, let me be clear in a promise to our city and to our men and women who serve with honor on a daily basis, that we will not allow anyone to tarnish this badge. As we all know the actions of a few affect the many. I, we, have committed to you to take the criminal element off of the streets of the city of Dallas, to perform relentless follow up on anyone who does harm to this city and that includes within the walls of this police department.”
A bond amount has not been confirmed and it’s not clear if Riser has obtained an attorney.
