Dallas police fire four officers

DALLAS, TX In all, Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle has fired some 66 officers since taking over the department in June 2004, The Dallas Morning News reported. The dismissals come at a time when the department has faced criticism for the conduct of some officers.

Senior Cpl. Daniel Hageman denied firing his weapon at the woman's car during the May 2008 incident in Garland. Hageman was indicted on a felony charge of deadly conduct over the incident.

A phone listing for Hagemen could not be found.

Also in May, Lt. Paul Wisdom left a profane and intimidating message for the principal of Waxahachie High School, internal affairs investigators concluded.

On the day he was suspended, internal records show Wisdom left another series of profane and intimidating messages for school officials. Wisdom said he regretted using profanity, but said he felt like he had been baited into making the phone calls. The reason behind the calls was unclear.

A phone listing for Wisdom could not be found but his wife told the newspaper her husband was being treated unfairly and planned to appeal.

Another of the fired officers, Senior Cpl. James Sims, 45, was arrested for theft by check in Kaufman County last year. An internal investigation found he failed to pay debts on judgments. Sims told investigators he was having financial trouble and said his wife wrote some of the hot checks. Sims also said he unknowingly wrote hot checks on a closed account.

A phone listing for Sims could not be found.

The fourth officer fired, Officer Jeffrey Fowler, faces two felony charges of intoxication assault.

Last month, Fowler hit a car with his pickup and a passenger in his vehicle was critically injured. When officers arrived, Fowler smelled of alcohol, had bloodshot eyes, slurred his speech and was unsteady on his feet, according to police records. Fowler also was arrested on suspicion of public intoxication in January while he was off duty and riding in a vehicle. Dallas police say Fowler made profane and threatening comments to supervisors and collegues.

A phone listing for Fowler could not be found.

The department has recently faced a series of questions over some officers conduct involving incidents captured on patrol car cameras.

A Dallas police officer who pulled out his gun and threatened an NFL player with jail instead of allowing him inside a hospital where his mother-in-law was dying recently resigned. Officer Robert Powell had been placed on leave for the March 18 incident when he stopped Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats' SUV outside a hospital after the vehicle rolled through a red light.

Two Dallas police patrol sergeants were transferred off the streets pending the outcome of an investigation into whether officers used improper force against three suspects and a Taser on one of them.

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