Dallas police have released body camera footage capturing a tense and chaotic arrest in which an officer opened fire toward an undercover colleague during the takedown of a robbery suspect who allegedly threatened a 9-year-old girl at gunpoint before stealing a Porsche.
The incident unfolded on August 6 after a woman called 911 to report that a man had approached her white Porsche Cayenne outside a business on Sunnyvale Street in southern Dallas. Her young daughter had been sitting inside the vehicle when the suspect first attempted to take it.
According to police the suspect identified as 39-year-old Renard McFadden arrived in a stolen Ford F-150 and threatened the child telling her he was armed. The girl fled into the business screaming to alert her mother. When the mother confronted McFadden he again indicated he had a weapon before driving off in the Porsche.
The mother’s 911 call released by Dallas Police captures a harrowing exchange with a dispatcher who asked whether the suspect had pointed a gun at her daughter. The caller confirmed he had threatened both of them.
Officers tracked the stolen Porsche using the vehicle’s built-in GPS application with the victim providing real-time location updates. Police located the car near Williamstown Road between the Dallas North Tollway and Preston Road roughly one hour after the robbery was reported.
As uniformed officers initiated a felony traffic stop an undercover officer positioned an unmarked vehicle in front of the Porsche and stepped out with his department-issued handgun drawn. At that point an officer identified by police as Rocha fired four rounds in the direction of both the undercover officer and McFadden.
Rocha stopped shooting after realizing the individual he had fired toward was a fellow officer. Body camera footage released by the department captures officers repeatedly shouting “Blue! Blue!” a signal used to identify law enforcement personnel.
Remarkably no officers and no civilians were struck. McFadden exited the Porsche and surrendered without further incident.
Inside the stolen vehicle officers discovered a loaded handgun. Police said additional evidence recovered at the scene is being analyzed in connection with other violent crime investigations and that further charges are being pursued against McFadden.
McFadden currently faces charges of Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, Robbery and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm. The shooting involving the officer who fired is under review as is standard protocol following any discharge of a weapon by Dallas Police personnel.
