DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF) – A Dallas Police Officer was charged with two counts of Capital Murder on Thursday.
Dallas Police said Officer Bryan Riser, a veteran of the force since 2008, is in Police custody and is being linked to two unrelated murders dating back to 2017.
“We received information from a witness that implicated Riser in both murders,” said Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia.
Garcia said the first murder occurred on March 10, 2017, when officers responded to 200 Santa Fe Avenue, near the Trinity River, and found 31-year-old Lisa Saenz found dead in the water, shot several times.
Garcia said on August 14, 2019, a witness stated he kidnapped and murdered a victim at the direction of Riser and that Riser instructed him to kidnap and murder another man named Albert Douglas. Douglas was reported missing by his family in February 2017. Garcia said witnesses say Douglas was kidnapped and murdered at the same location as Saenz, but his body was never recovered.
According to an arrest affidavit, multiple people were arrested in Saenz murder. A suspect, referred to in the affidavit as a witness, told Police that Riser instructed him to kill both Saenz and Douglas. He allegedly offered money in exchange for the crimes.
Garcia said the motive is unknown at this time and will release more details as they become available.
“No one hates a bad cop more than a good cop,” said Garcia. “We hire individuals from the human race and when we find individuals such as this, it’s the actions that we take afterwards that we should be judged by. We will hold ourselves accountable to the highest levels and we will stand tall in front of you in good times and in in times of crisis,” he said
Garcia thanked the FBI with their assistance in this case.
“The actions investigated in no way reflect the actions of our men and woman who proudly wear this uniform,” said Garcia. “Let me be clear, in a promise to our city and to our men and women who serve with honor on a daily basis, we will not allow anyone to tarnish this badge,” he said.
Garcia said Riser doesn’t become a murderer until the department has enough information to find probable cause that he is a murder suspect. “The fact that he was a person of interest I think is very important. I think the community should know that this police department wants to be as thorough as possible because we certainly don’t want someone slipping through the cracks that has no business wearing this uniform,” he said.
Riser is on administrative leave pending the outcome of an Internal Affairs administrative investigation.
Listen to Clayton Neville’s story below:
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