DALLAS — Dallas police officials handed down written reprimands Tuesday to four officers seen on video mocking a disabled veteran who urinated on himself after he was denied the restroom.
The department’s assistant chief over patrol, Reuben Ramirez, decided on the officers’ discipline after an afternoon hearing with the officers and other commanders. Police also decided to mandate sensitivity training for the officers, officials said.
Department spokeswoman Kristin Lowman would not release the findings or discipline, instead referring a reporter to file an open records request. She declined to comment further.
The discipline came after months of pressure from Dallas’ civilian police watchdogs and four days after The Dallas Morning News published an investigation detailing how the oversight office that brought veteran DyNell Lane’s case to light lost its authority to investigate complaints and its control over what grievances could be reviewed.
A written reprimand is a form of formal discipline the department hands down that will go into the officers’ files but won’t, by default, affect their pay or status. It’s a step below a suspension but is more severe than the department’s forms of “summary discipline,” which include advice and counseling or a supervisor’s report.
Dallas’ police oversight office has identified two of the officers as James Smith and Juan Figueroa Luna. The names of the other two have not…
