Dallas officer offered hitman thousands of dollars to kill, dump victims into Trinity River, affidavit says
Bryan Riser has been with the department since August 2008. He was taken into custody Thursday morning, officials said.
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Dallas police officer arrested on murder charges in connection to two unrelated deaths in 2017, chief says
Bryan Riser has been with the department since August 2008. He was taken into custody Thursday morning, officials said.
Credit: WFAA
Author: Jozelyn Escobedo (WFAA), Eline de Bruijn
Published: 12:37 PM CST March 4, 2021
Updated: 3:29 PM CST March 4, 2021
DALLAS — Updated at 2:13 p.m. with additional details from police officials.
Dallas police say that an officer was arrested Thursday morning on two counts of capital murder stemming from the 2017 deaths of two separate victims.
A witness told investigators that the officer, Bryan Riser, allegedly instructed him to kill the two victims, Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia said at a news conference.
Riser has been transported to the Dallas County jail. The investigation remains ongoing.
Garcia said at the news conference that in 2019, multiple witnesses shared information with investigators that implicated Riser in both deaths.
"Let me be clear in a promise to our city and to our men and women who serve with honor on a daily basis," Garcia said. "We will not allow anyone to tarnish this badge. As we all know the actions of the few affect the many."
The first case was the death of Liza Marie Saenz, who was found dead March 10, 2017 in the Trinity River with multiple gunshot wounds. Four kayakers found her body, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
The affidavit says investigators obtained surveillance video and that Saenz was kidnapped at gunpoint.
Three other people were arrested in Saenz's death.
In August 2019, a witness told police that he kidnapped and murdered Saenz allegedly at the direction of Riser, Garcia said.
According to Garcia, the witness also said that Riser instructed him to kidnap and kill the second victim, Albert Douglas. Douglas was reported missing by his family in February 2017.
Douglas' body was never recovered. Garcia said the motive in his death remains unknown.
Riser had an acquaintance relationship with at least one of the victims.
According to officials, although Riser is in custody, he's on administrative leave pending the outcome of an Internal Affairs administrative investigation. Garcia said they plan to expedite the investigation.
"Let me conclude by saying that there’s an old adage in police work that no one hates a bad cop more than a good cop," Garcia said. "We hire individuals from the human race and when we find individuals such as this, it's these actions we take afterward that we should be judged by."
Riser has been with the department since August 2008 and was assigned to the South-Central Patrol Division.
The FBI assisted the department in the investigation.
Dallas Police Officer Arrested, Charged in Two Unrelated 2017 Murders
A Dallas police officer is in custody and is facing two charges of capital murder for ordering the deaths of two people, a man and a woman killed months apart in 2017.
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