A judge found a Farmers Branch police officer not guilty of murder on Wednesday for fatally shooting the unarmed driver of a pickup truck that had been reported stolen.
Farmers Branch officer Michael Dunn, 47, was acquitted in the 2019 killing of 35-year-old Juan Moreno after taking the witness stand during a three-day trial in which video was shown of the pickup truck swerving past the police SUV.
The case was decided by a judge rather than a jury at the state's request. Defense attorney Dan Hagood said after the trial Wednesday that both sides felt Judge Mike Snipes would be fair and they agreed to the request to forgo a jury trial.
"You could tell the judge gave it a lot of thought and consideration. He's a very diligent, very intelligent man. Hard-working. We were lucky to get a judge of his caliber," Hagood said after the trial.
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Dunn testified that he opened fire in self-defense, fearing Moreno was going to drive into him moments after he stepped out of his police cruiser. Prosecutors contended Moreno did not pose a threat.
Two other people inside the truck were not hurt.
Snipes issued the verdict after deliberating for less than half an hour. Dunn, who's been on administrative leave from his suburban police department since the shooting, faced a sentence of up to life in prison if he had been convicted.
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"The case is from 2019. It's been an awful, awful ordeal for Officer Dunn. Happily, he's going to go back to active duty now," said defense attorney Dan Hagood, who added that the loss of Moreno's life was a tragedy and that it's also been "a terrible time" for his family.
Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot said in a statement that his team “presented all of the evidence we had” and respects the judge's decision.
Dunn was indicted two weeks after the June 2019 shooting outside a Dallas shopping center. The officer had followed a white pickup truck reported stolen from the nearby city of Irving and was exiting his cruiser as Moreno was pulling out of the parking lot. Surveillance video shows Dunn firing into the driver’s side of the truck as it makes a sweeping turn around his vehicle.
"Has been on administrative leave for four and a half years. Farmers Branch stood 100% behind him, he was not fired and may be the only officer not fired after being indicted for murder," Hagood said. "The Marine Corps promoted him after the indictment. The people [who] knew about this case had a lot of confidence in Officer Dunn, his impeccable character, his impeccable integrity. They did not want to let him go and happily, he was not let go."
Moreno’s family brought a civil suit against Dunn and his department. That action was paused pending the outcome of the criminal case.
