Dramatic video shows stolen pickup truck ramming Dallas police vehicles

DALLAS - Dramatic new video of last week’s police shooting involving a group of people in a stolen pickup truck shows the moments the stolen vehicle ran right on top of a Dallas police cruiser.

The Dallas police chief says his officers helped get dangerous criminals off the street after what started as a stop for a stolen car ended with bullets flying.           

The shooting happened on Thursday at an apartment complex near Walnut Lane and U.S. Highway 75 in Northeast Dallas.

Police were investigating a stolen pickup truck at the apartment complex when the driver rammed a police car. Four people inside the truck took off running. 

Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia on Monday said none of these suspects fired guns at officers, but he says make no mistake that driving a vehicle into officers is aggravated assault. It appears the officers have his full backing and support based upon the evidence. 

"This is not a choreographed dance," he said. "Officers weren’t going to wait until a masked individual with a firearm was going to turn on the officers and shoot first. The proper thing would have been done for the individual not to run out of the car, not to be armed and to have given up."

Police recovered several stolen guns from the suspects, including one with a Glock switch and extended magazine. 

Three of the four suspects are in custody.

Dallas PD says Officer Travis Marks fired twice from inside a police car through a back window, striking 17-year-old Eric Lampkin-Scarborough. Officers tracked him down to detain and treat him. 

"The gun carried by Lampkin-Scarbrough was stolen out of the city of Dallas in February and, again, had been modified with an extended magazine and a Glock switch," Garcia said.

Officer Timothy Steed was the passenger in the patrol car that was hit. Steed chased one of the suspects and shot four times in the suspect’s direction near the apartments. However, police say no one was hit.

21-year-old Damon Price was the alleged driver and was quickly arrested.

The new videos show 19-year-old Deantae Moore lying low underneath the truck.

After Moore was arrested, police realized he had two outstanding capital murder warrants for a double homicide in March at a Dallas convenience store.

Related

article

Suspect arrested after Dallas police shooting was wanted for March double murder

One of the three suspects arrested after a confrontation with police on Thursday was wanted for allegedly killing two 18-year-olds earlier this year.

In that case, an affidavit reads that Moore was allegedly purchasing Glock switches from the two young men he killed. Dallas PD’s gang unit identified him. 

While Thursday’s call started off related to a stolen vehicle, Chief Garcia believes the suspects are associated with very high-risk behavior, and the stolen truck may just be a microcosm of their lifestyles.

"My 32 years of policing tell me that this was not just a joy ride with someone stopping at an apartment complex. I feel that there was something far more nefarious planned," the chief said. "Someone is alive today, I fully believe, because of the actions of our men and women and the actions of our officers that day."

Chief Garcia says additional charges are likely and investigators are working to uncover what organized criminal activity this group might be connected to. 

"Not all the time, but oftentimes this is the reason why individuals steal cars is to commit more serious crimes," the chief said. "And again, not at this point, I can’t tell you specifically what was going to be planned, but I will tell you that I’ve been a cop for 32 years, and that was not a normal just stolen vehicle that happens to be just sitting in a carport."

A fourth suspect got away, but police have yet to identify him publicly.

No officers were injured.

The Dallas County District Attorney’s Office and Dallas Police Department will conduct separate investigations regarding the officer-involved shooting.