Police release video of third Dallas officer-involved shooting this year
DPD say man shot after lunging at officers with box cutter
Dallas police have released officer body cam footage of an officer-involved shooting from last weekend in the Oak Lawn area. FOX 4's Alex Boyer has more.
DALLAS - The Dallas Police Department gave an update and shared video of a deadly officer-involved shooting that happened over the weekend.
The suspect in the case reportedly charged at officers with a box cutter and reached for an officer’s service weapon. He can be heard in body camera video asking the officers to shoot him.
Dallas Officer-Involved Shooting
Video shows Dallas' third police shooting in 2026 | FULL NEWS CONFERENCE
The Dallas Police Department held a news conference on Wednesday afternoon to give an update and share video of its third officer-involved shooting of the year. The suspect in this case was armed with a box cutter and reportedly tried to take an officer's service weapon. He can be heard in body camera video telling officers he wanted them to shoot him.
What's new:
Police on Wednesday identified the suspect as 22-year-old James Thomas.
He had no prior criminal history but had called 911 twice on the night of the shooting, saying he had a knife and felt like he may harm himself.
Body camera video from the four responding officers shows a utility knife clearly visible in Thomas' hand when he opens the door. Thomas shuts the door but can still be heard in the video telling the officers to put their stun guns away because he wanted to be shot.
They appear to back off and try to de-escalate the situation. "Let us help you out," an officer says.
Minutes later, the officers realize there's someone else in the apartment. "This is your fault," Thomas yells at the other person, prompting the officers to kick in the door.
"Mr. Thomas escalated the situation by yelling at the other individual into the apartment, 'It's your fault. It your fault,'" said said Deputy Chief William Griffith, the commander of DPD's Criminal Investigations Group. "The officers believe that there was an intimate threat to the other individuals inside the apartment, so that's why they made entry at that time."
Police said after the officers entered the apartment, Thomas initially backed away. Then he charged the officers, prompting two of the four officers to fire shots.
Thomas was struck multiple times and fell to the ground, but continued to resist. Officers had to use a stun gun on him before they could safely handcuff him and render aid. However, Thomas later died from his injuries at the hospital.
Police said the other person in the apartment was Thomas' girlfriend. She was not hurt during the shooting but was treated for injuries she sustained in an argument with Thomas earlier in the day.
All four officers involved were placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure following an officer-involved shooting.
What they're saying:
"Based on the preliminary investigation right now, we believe the officers acted appropriately. You can see that the officers had Tasers out and their weapons. They attempted several times to talk to Mr. Thomas to let him know that, hey, the officers are there to help," Deputy Chief Griffith said. "They were in the mindset that they wanted to help Mr. Thomas but what occurred is Mr. Thomas escalated the situation by yelling at the other individual inside the apartment that the officers believed that she was in imminent threat of being harmed."
Dallas has what's called a Right Care Team, which is a specialized mental health response unit designed to provide clinical rather than a law enforcement-only response to behavioral health emergencies.
In this case, Griffith said they didn't respond since dispatch officers knew Thomas had a knife.
"Since this was an active situation where Mr. Thomas was threatening to cut himself or kill himself, the officers needed to be dispatched as a four-officer call. And they get there and they can determine at that time if it's deemed safe or when it becomes safe to request Right Care to come out there," he said.
The backstory:
The shooting happened around 7:30 p.m. on Sunday at an apartment complex in the 5100 block of Lemmon Avenue. Officers were responding to reports of a man threatening to harm himself with a weapon.
Police initially said officers knocked on the apartment door. The man opened it while holding a box cutter and then immediately slammed it in the officers’ faces.
Man fatally shot by Dallas police after charging officers with box cutter
A man was fatally shot by Dallas police Sunday night after he allegedly charged at officers with a box cutter during a mental health call in the Oak Lawn area.
The officers overheard the man shouting, "Put the taser away. I don’t want to f***ing stab myself. I want to get shot." He also yelled at another person inside the unit, saying, "This is your fault," according to police.
The suspect then reopened the door and "aggressively charged at officers" while reaching for an officer's service weapon. Police fired at the man, striking him in the upper torso. He was transported to a nearby hospital, where he later died.
No officers were injured in the confrontation.
The Source: The information in this story comes from the Dallas Police Department.