Dallas Police Chief David O. Brown disciplined the following officers during hearings this afternoon.

1. Police Officer Jesus Martinez, #8814, was involved in the following incident:

On June 8, 2014, at approximately 6:18 p.m., Officer Martinez was on patrol when he came in contact with a pedestrian that he earlier witnessed panhandling. A video of the incident, which was captured by a witness, showed Officer Martinez straddling the pedestrian who was faced down. The video captured Officer Martinez handcuffing the pedestrian and pushing his handcuffed hands and elbows upward. The video showed Officer Martinez using his right knee to pin the pedestrian’s right elbow down while raising the pedestrian’s left elbow and hand upward causing him severe pain. Officer Martinez holds the pedestrian in this position for approximately 40 seconds. At one point, Officer Martinez raised the pedestrian’s left elbow until it touched the back of his head. During the video, the pedestrian could be heard screaming in pain. This continued for approximately 45 more seconds until cover officers arrived.

Officer Martinez alleged that the pedestrian was resisting which resulted in his actions and the use of OC spray. Another independent witness observed Officer Martinez and the pedestrian exchange words and then Officer Martinez followed the pedestrian and subsequently tackled him. The witness also gave an account of the incident as described on the video and did not see any resistance.

An Internal Affairs investigation concluded that Officer Martinez used unnecessary and/or inappropriate force against a citizen.

Officer Martinez was arrested and charged with Official Oppression Class A Misdemeanor.

Officer Martinez was terminated for his actions. He was hired in April 2006 and was assigned to the Central Patrol Division.

2. Police Officer Casarae Womble, #9977, was involved in the following incidents:

On October 29, 2014, Officer Womble, while on duty, had a recorded telephone conversation with the mother of his children. During the conversation, Officer Womble made threats towards the children who were staying with him at the time. The threats caused the mother to fear for the safety of her children. Also during the recorded conversation Officer Womble made threats towards the mother.

Later that day, Officer Womble’s chain of command was made aware of the threats made by Officer Womble. He was called in to headquarters by his supervisors where he was questioned about the conversation he had with the mother of his children. Officer Womble denied ever making any threats.

On October 31, 2014, Officer Womble was arrested for Harassment by the department’s Child Abuse Unit.

An Internal Affairs investigation concluded that Officer Womble failed to devote his entire time and attention to duty, engaged in adverse conduct which resulted in his arrest for Harassment, and being untruthful to a supervisor. The investigation also revealed an incident that occurred on November 16, 2013, in Plano, Texas. During that incident, Officer Womble and the children’s mother were involved in a disturbance which led to a police response by Plano police. No arrest or charges were filed during that incident. Therefore, Officer Womble received an allegation for being involved in an incident that occurred in Plano, Texas, which resulted in a police response.

Officer Womble was terminated for his actions. He was hired in September 2009 and was assigned to the Field Services Division.

Under civil service rules, all employees have the right to appeal their discipline.

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During a separate hearing held today, Assistant Chief Michael Genovesi disciplined Officer Julian Harris, #10582, for the following incident:

On November 20, 2014, Dallas officers were dispatched to an injured person call involving a female victim at Charlton Methodist Hospital where they met with an injured complainant.

Detectives in the Domestic Violence Unit began an investigation that found that a disturbance between Officer Harris and the female complainant escalated into a physical altercation resulting in the complainant receiving a serious bodily injury at Officer Harris’s apartment in Dallas.

Officer Harris reported to the Domestic Violence Unit and was placed under arrest for Aggravated Assault F/V SBI 22.02 F/2 and was transported to the Dallas County Jail.

Police Officer Harris was hired on June 19, 2013 and on probation. Based on his probationary status, he was terminated from the department for failure of probation and has no right to appeal under civil service rules.