Man caused officer's gun to discharge after tackling officer, Dallas police say

DALLAS - Dallas police arrested a man accused of crashing into a restaurant Friday night, before leaving the scene and later being involved in another incident, in which police said he tackled an officer, causing her gun to discharge.

We don’t why the driver of the sedan reportedly ran from people trying to help him.

"They kind of woke him up and he fled the scene, and he just took off," recalled Tommy Nelson, who witnessed the start of the incident.

We don’t know why Ring camera footage appears to later show him flailing on the ground outside a stranger’s home.

"He could barely walk," recalled Taylor Dockree, who witnessed part of the incident.

And we don’t know what he was thinking when he reportedly ran from Dallas Police Department officers, later running toward them, tackling an officer, and discharging an officer’s gun. 

This all began when a car crashed into Mayer’s Garden, off North Henderson Avenue, just before 7:30 p.m. Friday.

"Saw the car just smashed right up against the edge of the restaurant," Nelson said.

Nelson said first responders arrived to help the driver who, at first, appeared to be unconscious. 

"And then boom, [he was] gone," Nelson recalled.

Police said the driver, Roderick Green, ran away.

READ MORE: Son attacks, shoots father after argument, Fort Worth police say

An hour and a half later, about a mile away off Buena Vista Street, police said Green was trying to enter multiple homes.

"And this guy is tripping and falling and flailing all over," Dockree said.

Dockree, her husband, and their 4-month-old son live in one of those homes.

"And it was super scary. Then I heard some more commotion," she said.

Ring camera footage from another home later shows officers trying to take Green into custody. They repeatedly told him to sit down.

"Sit down. Sit down. Sit down. If you don’t sit down, you’re going to get tased, for no reason! Stop," the officers said.

The female officer displayed her Taser, but Green still did not take a seat. 

Instead, Dallas police said Green resisted and ran across the street.

Officers deployed Tasers, but they were ineffective.

Police said Green chased the female officer and the officer unholstered her gun.

Green then reportedly grabbed the officer and tackled her to the ground.

During the fight, police said Green grabbed the officer’s hand and weapon, and the weapon discharged.

The second officer took control of Green, who was taken into custody. 

"That was not fun to experience that. It was definitely nerve-racking," Dockree said.

The Dockree family and others in the neighborhood are glad no one was hit by the gunshot. 

"Scary, right? Because I have a baby," she added.

Green was arrested for assault on public servant, attempting to take a peace officer’s weapon, and burglary of building.

As for the initial car crash, it’s unclear what charges might be filed.

No injuries were reported, and witnesses said that’s a miracle because people had been sitting on the other side of the patio moments before the crash.

"They were actually sitting on those seats that just got hit by the car and they had moved inside because they were a little too cold," Nelson said.

The officer was taken to a hospital, treated, and released.

Green was taken to a hospital for an evaluation and then taken to the Dallas County Jail.