Dallas Cop Who Shot Mentally Ill Man Fired, Charged With Aggravated Assault

DALLAS– Dallas police say the officer who shot a mentally ill man in a disputed incident caught on tape has been fired and charged with felony aggravated assault.

Police Chief David Brown made the announcement Thursday and apologized for the officer’s actions.

Officer Cardan Spencer wrote in a police report that he shot Bobby Gerald Bennett last week after the 52-year-old man lunged at him and another officer with a knife.

But video captured by a neighbor’s surveillance camera shows Bennett didn’t appear to move toward the officers before he was shot and crumpled to the ground.

Bennett’s mother, Joyce Jackson, says her son suffers from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Following an outcry after the video was publicized, Spencer had been placed on indefinite administrative leave.

Watch news report below: