DPD Northwest Division Officer Fired
Eric Watts, a police officer in Dallas PD’s Northwest division, was fired today, 15 months after he falsely claimed that a DeSoto man struck him with his car while fleeing from the officer.
For his accusation, Watts was indicted by a grand jury in May. According to DPD’s Facebook page:
On April 1, 2011, Police Officer Eric Watts, #8749, became involved in a vehicle pursuit when a motorist failed to stop for speeding. When the motorist slowed for traffic at a stop sign, Officer Watts exited the police vehicle, pulled out his weapon, and gave commands for the driver to exit. The driver disobeyed the commands and accelerated, driving past Officer Watts and allegedly running over his foot. The motorist eventually stopped and was taken into custody. The motorist was transported to jail and charged with an Aggravated Assault on a Public Servant. Officer Watts dictated the information to a fellow officer who completed the arrest report. After a subsequent review of the police dash cam video, it was later discovered that the driver had not run over Officer Watts’ foot as had been alleged. This prompted an Internal Affairs investigation into Officer Watts’ actions.
The Northwest division includes Preston Hollow, Bluffview, and Greenway Farms.
