DALLAS — A Dallas police officer turned himself in to the Arlington Police Department on a misdemeanor warrant for deadly conduct, the department confirms.
The incident happened July 2 when the officer Jalen Thomas was off duty, police said. More details about the incident weren’t immediately available.
Arlington police say responded to the incident shortly before 11:30 p.m. July 2 at an apartment complex in the 8200 block of Hornisher Way. They said a tenant reported hearing a sound, then finding a bullet hole in their bathroom wall.
Officers determined the shot came from the apartment next door, and the resident, identified as Thomas, 28, was found in the parking lot outside the building, according to Arlington police.
Thomas admitted to police he was the one who fired the shot, officers said.
"He informed them that he was a police officer for another department and was preparing his gear for work the next day," Arlington police said in a statement. "He said he removed the magazine from his pistol and thought he made it safe – but when he pulled the trigger, there was apparently still a round in the chamber, and a shot was fired. Afterward, he placed the firearm in his vehicle."
Thomas weapon was seized at the time, but he wasn't taken into custody at that time, police said.
Police got a warrant for Thomas for deadly conduct after further investigation, according to the Arlington Police Department.
Thomas turned himself in to Arlington police July 25 and the Dallas Police Department's Internal Affairs Division was notified, according to a statement from police.
Thomas has been with the Dallas Police Department since March 2022 and is assigned to the Northwest Patrol Division, officials said. He is on administrative leave pending the outcome of an Internal Affairs administrative investigation.
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