DALLAS — An 18-year veteran of the Dallas Police Department took his own life this week just one day after firing his service weapon in the fatal shooting of a murder suspect, DPD sources confirm to WFAA.
Police say Officer Matthew Bacon was part of the U.S. Marshals fugitive task force -- a joint venture between Dallas and Mesquite police officers -- that was serving an arrest warrant to a murder suspect at a Dallas apartment complex in the 3700 block of South Tyler Street, near Highway 67, at around 10 a.m. on Monday, August 7. Law enforcement sources say Bacon was in a group of officers that approached the suspect in a vehicle at the complex, and that he was among the at least four officers who fired their service weapons after the suspect allegedly produced a gun and pointed it in their direction.
The suspect, later identified as 36-year-old Corey Thomas, was transported to a hospital, where he died of injuries sustained from gunshot wounds.
Thomas was wanted for an alleged murder that occurred on July 24, 2023, on Mentor Street in Dallas.
According to internal DPD memos obtained by WFAA, Bacon took his own life on Tuesday, August 8 -- just one day after he fired his weapon in the fatal shooting that killed Thomas.
In department-wide memos released in the wake of Bacon's passing, Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia called his death "a heartbreaking loss for our DPD family" and asked that other members of the force "never hesitate to reach out" when struggling with mental health issues.
DPD was to hold a press conference Wednesday morning laying out the details of the incident in which Bacon was involved. That press conference was then postponed before it could start, with no reschedule time or date yet announced.
On Wednesday afternoon, the department released a brief video about the officer-involved shooting:
The video contained security camera footage from the apartment complex, but no bodycam footage from the arresting officers.
Per DPD, none of the officers involved in the incident were wearing body worn cameras at the time of the shooting. This, DPD said, is " due to a federal memorandum of understanding that requires an amendment the department is seeking, and is currently under review."
DPS said its Special Investigations Unit's investigation into the officer-involved shooting is ongoing.
The incident from Monday is the Dallas Police Department's seventh officer-involved shooting of 2023. A separate shooting -- one involving an undercover police officer from early Wednesday morning -- is the eighth.
This is a developing story. More details will be added as they become available.