For only the second time in 17 years, a Dallas County grand jury has indicted a police officer for wrongly killing a suspect in the line of duty. Patrick Tuter is being held on an unusually high $100,000 bail after his indictment for manslaughter in the death of 25-year-old Michael Vincent Allen on Aug. 31 of last year.
Prosecutors said they did not consider the fired Garland police officer a threat to flee, and were prepared to let bail go as low as $10,000. But Judge Lena Levario said that in her view, Tuter (pictured) posed a threat to public safety and needed to be locked up. Typical bail in manslaughter cases is about $25,000, the
Dallas Morning News reported.
If he makes bail, Tuter is not allowed to hold any job that requires him to use a weapon.
From the facts of the case, Tuter appears not only trigger-happy, but also an inaccurate shot. He is accused of killing Allen, who was unarmed, after a half-hour chase during which speeds hit 100 mph along a North Dallas freeway, ending up with Allen cornered in cul-de-sac in Mesquite.
According to one eyewitness to the shooting, Allen's white GMC pick-up truck was trapped between two cop cars. That's when Tuter, according to a witness, shouted for Allen to get out of the truck but then, without waiting more than a few seconds, opened fire.
