Bodycam video released in shooting of man who rammed stolen U-Haul into Dallas police vehicle
DALLAS - Dallas police released bodycam video and more details about an officer-involved shooting of a man who rammed a stolen U-Haul into a police vehicle earlier this week.
This happened on Tuesday, July 25. It started just after 11 a.m., when Dallas Police Northwest Covert and Crime Response Team officers were watching a stolen U-Haul truck in the 9600 block of El Centro Drive.
Officers reported seeing 41-year-old Ryan Taylor get into the truck and drive away.
Police said Taylor was stopped at the stop sign at Dunhaven and Lenel Place when he "intentionally" backed into a covert police vehicle, pushing it into a fire hydrant.
Dallas police officer shoots suspect who rammed stolen U-Haul into police vehicle
A Dallas police officer shot a man who led police on a brief chase in a stolen U-Haul.
Officers tried to stop Taylor, but he fled from police, hitting multiple vehicles while driving on side streets and the Dallas North Tollway.
As the U-Haul jumped off the tollway at Wycliff, a horrific tragedy was avoided literally by inches, as a DART bus barely missed hitting the barreling U-Haul.
"That could have been real bad. We talk about someone driving with disregard for human life. You just witnessed it right there," Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia said. "As you look at that video, he had plenty of roadway to move around them, he was, that was intentional to someway try to stop our officers’ pursuit."
Taylor continued to flee from police and hit other vehicles, before hitting the center median, hitting a tree, and crashing in the 7200 block of Lemmon Avenue.
That’s when police said Taylor got out of the U-Haul and ran into a hangar building at Dallas Love Field.
Taylor fired at least two shots at officers, police said, before five-year DPD Officer Keenan Craven returned fire and hit Taylor in the leg. Police said no other officers fired at the suspect.
"You saw bravery at its finest right there," Garcia said. "For him to have ran after him, taking shots, strike the suspect. He did a fantastic job."
After being shot at, police officers put a tourniquet on Taylor to stop the blood flow.
Taylor, who had 10 previous criminal charges, was taken into custody and then to a local hospital. No officers were injured, and no injuries were reported in the 13 vehicles that Taylor crashed into along the way.
Officers found the handgun Taylor fired at the scene, which was reported stolen.
Taylor will be charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault of a public servant, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, and evading arrest in a vehicle.
"I commend our northwest officers. This is exactly what our city and our communities and our neighborhoods want our men and women to do," Garcia said.
Dallas PD is continuing to investigate this case, and the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office is doing its own investigation.
According to Dallas PD, this is the department’s fifth officer-involved shooting so far this year.