Judge raises bail to $100,000 for ex-Garland police officer charged with manslaughter

[Karee 4,191]

A Dallas County judge this morning set a $100,000 bail for the former Garland police officer charged with manslaughter, even though prosecutors were willing to accept as low as $10,000.

Judge Lena Levario refused to lower the bail amount at a bond hearing this morning for 33-year-old Patrick Tuter, who is accused of killing a fleeing suspect when he shot at him 41 times in August 2012. Tuter was indicted Monday on a charge of manslaughter, the first time in more than 15 years that a Dallas County grand jury indicted an officer in a fatal shooting.

The standard bail amount on a manslaughter charge is $25,000, but prosecutors said they agreed to a $10,000 bail because they didn’t believe Tuter would flee. They said he had been cooperative in the criminal and internal police investigations, as well as the District Attorney’s own investigation.

But Levario said: “I’m not concerned about whether he is going to return to court or not. I’m concerned about public safety.”

Tuter is accused of engaging in a half-hour chase that exceeded 100 miles per hour to track down Michael Vincent Allen, 25, near midnight on Aug. 31, 2012. Tuter’s squad car eventually crashed into Allen’s truck and Tuter opened fire, shooting 41 times and reloading twice.

Levario pointed out that the only other officer on scene did not fire, and also sought refuge from the bullets behind his patrol car. Defense attorneys said the other officer was never in any real danger.

Allen, who had a criminal history and was on the run from Sachse police, was struck three times and died of his gunshot wounds.

Garland police fired Tuter earlier this year after concluding that he had violated the department’s use-of-force and pursuit policies. Levario said based on that, and considering that Tuter had violated department policy once before, she believed he could be a risk to the public.

As a condition of the $100,000 bail, Tuter cannot work as a police officer or hold any job that requires him to use a weapon. He was expected to be booked into jail Tuesday.

Source:

http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2013/11/judge-raises-bail-to-100000-for-ex-garland-police-officer-charged-with-manslaughter.html/

[TBoneTX 46,201]

"Tuter cannot work as a police officer or hold any job that requires him to use a weapon."

This sounds a bit overdue.

[Karee 4,191]

"Tuter cannot work as a police officer or hold any job that requires him to use a weapon."

This sounds a bit overdue.

Yeah that seems like the least of this guys worries.