Dallas Police continue to investigate the officer involved shooting that happened on September 24, 2023, in the 1800 block of Barnes Bridge Road and 2000 block of Barnes Bridge Road.
This is the tenth officer involved shooting involving a Dallas Police Officer in 2023.
On September 22, 2023, Northeast covert officers were on normal patrol when they saw a silver Cadillac SUV with a paper tag that did not belong to the vehicle.
Officers attempted a traffic stop, but the driver took off and there was no pursuit.
On September 24, 2023, at about 12:30 a.m., covert officers saw the same SUV westbound on Garland Road near Peavy Road, this time, with a different paper tag that did not belong to the vehicle.
The covert officers followed the vehicle to the 1800 block of Barnes Bridge Road and requested uniformed officers to the address.
Officers Francis Vela and Oscar Macias responded to the scene.
When the uniformed officers arrived, they saw the suspect, later identified as 55-year-old Michael Shirley, outside the suspect vehicle.
The officers gave verbal commands to Shirley to stop and show his hands.
Shirley then pulled out a handgun from a shoulder holster.
Officer Vela fires her weapon at Shirley, and the suspect fires back.
Officer Vela continues to fire and Senior Corporal Andrew Pease, a covert officer on-scene, also fires his weapon at Shirley.
Shirley continued to shoot, then got back into the stolen vehicle and sped northbound on El Capitan into a nearby apartment complex.
The suspect cut through the complex and came out eastbound onto Barnes Bridge Road.
The suspect hit a curb and flipped the SUV in the 2000 block of Barnes Bridge.
Senior Corporal Andrew Peace and Officer Richard Reiniger saw the suspect vehicle crash and approached the suspect vehicle on foot from the east.
Officers Peace and Reiniger were wearing heavy vests with police markings, carrying patrol rifles.
Officers Vela and Macias approached from the west and Shirley fired at them for a second time.
Officers Pease and Reiniger took cover behind a parked vehicle and returned fire at the suspect.
The suspect was hit by the return gunfire and fell to the ground.
A drone was deployed, showing the suspect still on the ground and the suspect’s weapon lying next to him in the grass.
Officers approached the suspect with shields and placed him into custody.
Officers administered first aid until DFR arrived, but Shirley died at the scene.
The drone footage also showed another person still inside the vehicle.
The woman inside the vehicle was not injured.
The woman said that she had gotten into the suspects’ vehicle voluntarily and as she and the suspect drove around, the suspect pulled her in to the second-row seat of the vehicle and handcuffed her to the seatbelt.
She is not considered a suspect and was not charged.
The suspect’s weapon was recovered at the scene.
One DPD vehicle was hit twice by gunfire. Once in the driver’s side window and once in the driver’s side front fender.
An uninvolved vehicle, on Barnes Bridge Rd. was also hit by gunfire.
No officers were hit by any rounds fired by the suspect, and no officers were injured.
Offense reports were filed in this case for Shirley including four counts of Aggravated Assault Public Servant and one charge of Kidnapping.
All charges will be cleared by exceptional arrest.
The Dallas Police Special Investigations Unit is investigating this case.
The Dallas County District Attorney’s Office was notified.
The Office of Community Police Oversight was notified.
The critical incident video can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/1EEjtib98IE
Original Posting:
On September 24, 2023, at about 12:40 am, Dallas Police covert officers were on a routine investigation at Barnes Ridge Road and El Capitan when they spotted a stolen vehicle. The preliminary investigation determined the officers called for uniformed officers to make a traffic stop.
When officers approached the suspect he pulled out a handgun and fired at officers. Officers returned fire. The suspect sped from the scene. Officers pursued, the suspect lost control of the car, flipping the vehicle. As officers approached the wrecked vehicle, the suspect shot at officers again. Officers returned fire again and the suspect was hit. The suspect died from his injuries. A woman was inside the vehicle when the suspect crashed; she was not injured. No officers were injured.