Improper Pat Down in Home Depot LP Office Results in Shooting Death
of PD Officer, Puts LP Officer in Critical Condition

Shooter is Sentenced to Life Without Parole

Family Sues Over Improper LP Search & Detainment

Loss Prevention Office - Apprehension Safety Practices

   

January 15, 2021
Man who fatally shot Dallas police officer at Home Depot in 2018 is sentenced
to life without parole

Until learning that Armando Juarez has an intellectual disability, the Dallas County DA’s office had planned to seek the death penalty.

Armando Juarez, who shot and killed Dallas police Officer Rogelio Santander Jr. in April 2018, pleaded guilty Friday to capital murder and was sentenced to life without parole.

Juarez fatally shot Santander and wounded his fellow Officer Crystal Almeida and security guard Scott Painter at the Home Depot store near Forest Lane and North Central Expressway on April 24, 2018.

Juarez fled, resulting in a high-speed chase. He shot at two other police officers before he was arrested.

The Dallas County district attorney’s office had sought the death penalty until it learned that Juarez was intellectually disabled.

In recent weeks, defense attorneys had submitted evidence that a psychologist had diagnosed an intellectual disability in their client, making him ineligible for the death penalty under a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Attorneys did not provide details in court about Juarez’s mental disability. Messina Madson, part of the defense team, said that information was confidential.

In 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that executing mentally disabled people violated the Constitution’s prohibition on “cruel and unusual punishment.” The decision changed how Texas courts evaluate defendants.

Juarez agreed to life without parole in exchange for admitting his guilt. He waived all appeals and his right to a jury trial.

In addition to drawing life for killing Santander, Juarez was sentenced to life for shooting Almeida, up to 20 years for shooting Painter and to two life sentences for firing at the two other officers during the chase.

‘You get to rot in prison’

Almeida, who spoke at the hearing Friday, said she and Santander had become “inseparable” friends in the police academy.

Almeida said that her wounds required a life-saving brain operation, other surgeries and facial reconstruction, and that the shooting also caused vision loss in her left eye, hearing loss, vertigo, short-term memory loss, anxiety attacks and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Because of all this, I can no longer be the police officer I once was,” Almeida said, fighting back tears. “I also lost my best friend.”

Almeida said Juarez was lucky not to get the death penalty.

“I wish you would,” she said, appearing on a computer screen from another room while Juarez was in the courtroom.

Before Almeida spoke, state District Judge Brandon Birmingham made sure she could see Juarez on the screen.

“If I could, for punishment, I’d want them to take your eye and hearing away just like you took mine,” Almeida said. “At the same time, I’m glad you get to rot in prison.”

Almeida added that she didn’t plan to forgive Juarez, who hung his head while she spoke.

“It’s going to take a long time before that happens,” she said.

In a message to department personnel this week, Interim Police Chief Lonzo Anderson acknowledged that the sentencing hearing would bring back tough memories for officers. Several officers attended Friday’s hearing in person, while others watched online.

“Let us be hopeful that justice will prevail, and that the Santander family can find some sense of closure as we keep them in our thoughts and prayers,” Anderson said.

Pending lawsuit

A lawsuit filed by the Santander and Almeida families is pending against Home Depot and two security officers who worked at the store the day of the shooting.

The lawsuit, filed in May 2019 in Dallas County, alleges negligence by the company and states that security guards didn’t properly search or detain Juarez.

When Almeida and Santander arrived at the Home Depot that day, they “were under the belief that Juarez had been appropriately detained, searched, and pat-down for weapons,” according to the suit. dallasnews.com


Previous Coverage of the Shooting - Lawsuit - Botched LP Apprehension?

May 20, 2019
Improper LP Search & Detainment?
Families of Dallas police officers shot in 2018 sue Home Depot, security

At the center of the suit is the allegation is that security officers at the retailer “failed to perform an adequate search” and properly detain shoplifting suspect Armando Luis Juarez.

The families of two Dallas officers shot last year inside a Home Depot have filed a lawsuit against the alleged killer, the home-improvement store, a Dallas-based security company and two people who worked security that day.

The April 24, 2018, shooting at the store near Forest Lane and U.S. Highway 75 left officer Rogelio Santander Jr. dead and Crystal Almeida seriously wounded.

The two families’ lawsuit, filed Friday in Dallas County, alleges negligence by Home Depot. At the center of the suit is the allegation that security officers at the retailer “failed to perform an adequate search” and properly detain shoplifting suspect Armando Luis Juarez.

When Almeida and Santander showed up to the Home Depot, the officers “were under the belief that Juarez had been appropriately detained, searched, and pat-down for weapons,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit said off-duty officer Chris Seward initially searched Juarez and found a can of mace, but failed to complete the search.

Police said Juarez had a gun in his pocket. After Santander and Almeida arrived to take him into custody, Juarez allegedly drew his gun and shot them and loss-prevention officer Scott Painter. The lawsuit called the incident a “preventable shooting.”

"Had the Home Depot and Allied security personnel performed a standard pat-down of Juarez they would have located the weapon and disarmed him. Had this occurred, there would have been no shooting, no death, no chaos," said Scott Palmer, Santander and Almeida's attorney.

According to the lawsuit, when a business detains a suspected criminal and calls in the police, “it is a standard industry practice” for security to search and disarm a suspect before the suspect is detained and before the police arrive.”

“It is also a standard practice to handcuff a detained individual until they are released,” the lawsuit said. Juarez was unrestrained, according to the suit.

The lawsuit states Home Depot hired Allied Universal Security Services and off-duty police officers after the store saw increased criminal activity. But the suit also faulted Home Depot for not allowing security to carry firearms.

Margaret Watters Smith, a spokeswoman for Home Depot, said “our hearts go out to the officers and their families but we have not yet seen the suit.”

A woman who answered the phones for Allied Universal Security Services declined to comment and deferred questions to its Dallas headquarters.

The lawsuit also names as individual defendants Seward and Allied Security officer Elijah Lateef. The two could not be reached for comment.

Santander’s father, who is also named Rogelio, did not respond to a call seeking comment. The Dallas Police Department also did not respond to requests for comment.

Juarez is also named a defendant in the suit. Authorities took him into custody after a five-hour manhunt, and he remains in jail on multiple charges, including capital murder. dallasnews.com

April 25, 2018
LP Apprehension Gone Wrong?
Source: Pat-Down Of Suspect Missed Handgun In Shooting Of Officers At Dallas Home Depot

Sources tell CBS 11 News, a pat-down of shooting suspect Armando Juarez by an off-duty officer missed a handgun that was used to shoot two Dallas police officers and a Home Depot employee on Tuesday.

Sources say Juarez was frisked before he was led without handcuffs into a room with three people who would all be shot shortly after.

Officers Rogelio Santander and Crystal Almeida arrived at the North Dallas Home Depot Tuesday afternoon after Juarez was stopped for suspicious activity by an off-duty Dallas officer working security at the store and during a background check found that “a felony warrant hit came back for the suspect.”

“As the off-duty officer, you call uniformed patrol officer to take the prisoner to jail and they’ll usually send two like they did,” said retired Dallas Police officer Rich Emberlin.

Emberlin once worked off-duty at the same Home Depot and says the suspect should have been handcuffed.

“You do sometimes have be a little more forceful and detain them and say, ‘I’m going to put some handcuffs on you’,” said Emberlin.

But sources say Juarez was not cuffed and the off-duty officer failed to detect the handgun in his pocket during a pat-down.

Sources say the suspect fired nine rounds in a second when he was told he was going to jail. Officer Santander died. dfw.cbslocal.com

April 24, 2018
Home Depot Shooting: Dallas Officer Dies From Injuries

A Dallas police officer died on Wednesday, one day after he, another officer and a store security guard were shot at a Home Depot.

The officer, Rogelio Santander, and a fellow officer, Crystal Almeida, were at the store responding to a request for assistance with an arrest. Officer Santander died from his injuries at 8:11 a.m., according to the Dallas Police Department.

“Our hearts are aching because of this Dallas police officer who lost his life in the line of duty,” Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas said on Twitter. “We thank him for paying the ultimate sacrifice protecting his community and we keep his family in our prayers.”

Officer Almeida and Scott Painter, the Home Depot security guard, both remain critically injured, Chief U. Renee Hall of the Dallas Police Department said at a news conference on Wednesday.

“We are optimistic about what we are seeing with them right now,” she said. Mr. Santander and Ms. Almeida had both spent three years with the department.

The police had arrested a man in connection with the shooting, Armando Juarez, 29, late on Tuesday night after an extensive search and a chase that led them from southeast to northwest Dallas.

He will be charged with at least two counts of aggravated assault on a public servant and two previous felony theft warrants, the department said early Wednesday. More charges may come, it said.

“I want to thank our Dallas police tonight,’’ Mayor Mike Rawlings said after the arrest on Tuesday. “They have taken a punch and they have come out fighting.”

At about 4:12 p.m. on Tuesday, the Police Department received a call to go to the Home Depot on Forest Central Drive in northeastern Dallas to help an off-duty officer who was there make an arrest, Chief Hall said on Tuesday. The shooting occurred shortly after they arrived.

In 2016, five Dallas police officers were shot and killed at a rally against police violence by Micah Johnson, a 25-year-old Army reservist who later died in a standoff with the police. Mr. Johnson, an African-American, was hoping to single out white officers in the ambush.

Last week, in Trenton, Fla., two sheriff’s deputies were shot dead by a gunman who ambushed them as they ate at a Chinese restaurant. nytimes.com
 

LP Room & Subject Safety
Using Proper De-Escalation Techniques When Apprehending a Hostile Suspect

Loss Prevention Interview Safety Tips From the Interview Experts at WZ

by Dave Thompson, CFI - VP of Operations at Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates

In an interview setting, investigators should be aware of the emotional vulnerability of their subject. Regardless of the case amount, these conversations may cause the subject to contemplate the multiple consequences ahead of them and the embarrassment or shame that comes along with it. They may also feel an aggravation towards the company or the interviewer themselves. With a non-confrontational interview, focused on rapport development and respect, we aim to pro-actively manage these concerns by empathizing and showing understanding towards the subject.

In addition to the approach of the conversation, interviewers should have a plan if they ever must leave the subject unattended. These moments of isolation may escalate the situation without any intervention from the investigator. Ensuring a witness is comfortable in the room, another investigator steps in or other measures are taken to minimize the likelihood of an isolated subject are important. The conclusion of the interview is equally as essential to the safety of all involved. Often, when first notifying the subject that law enforcement has been contacted, they may react impulsively and become impatient.

Minimizing the time between informing the subject and law enforcements subsequent arrival may be paramount in mitigating this concern. Using proper de-escalation techniques, interviewers should spend the necessary time to have a dialogue with both internal and external subjects at the end of the conversation. Most importantly, a contingency plan should be in place if the subject becomes hostile or disgruntled; and anticipate that this may happen long after the interview concludes. Although incidents of workplace violence seem spontaneous, a pro-active approach to identifying and mitigating these concerns are completely within our control.