Police: Officer shot son in own home

Ryan W. Miller

A Texas police officer shot his son who he thought might be an intruder, authorities said.

The incident occurred Saturday evening when the off-duty Dallas police officer returned home and thought someone might be inside, DeSoto Police Department spokesperson Pete Schultetold reporters.

His son, who Schulte said was in his 20s, suffered a non-life-threatening wound to his arm. Schulte said the officer, who police have not named, did not realize the son was home.

“It was a mistake,” Schulte said. “It was a startling situation.”

The Dallas Police Department referred USA TODAY to DeSoto police. DeSoto police said they had been in contact with the Dallas department.

The officer’s garage door was open and other doors that had been unlocked were locked when the officer arrived at the home in DeSoto, a suburb of Dallas, Schulte said.

“It caused him to have some concern that there’s something in the house. Then things happened very quickly,” Schulte said.

Schulte described the officer as a “long-term veteran of the Dallas Police

Department” and said DeSoto police didn’t “fault him” for not calling police when he thought something might be wrong.

The officer told police he wanted to check the house out himself before he “wasted a call to 911,” Schulte said.

“If you come home and something doesn’t feel right, doesn’t bother us at all. Go ahead and call 911 so we can come out and check it out,” Schulte added.

The officer is not expected to be charged in the incident, Schulte said. “This just happens to be one of those situations where accidents do happen,” Schulte said.