A Garland police officer who used excessive force on two consecutive nights was fired in May, the department has confirmed.
Matthew Mitchell had two public hearings scheduled last week to appeal his termination.
Garland police spokesman Lt. Pedro Barineau said the hearings were postponed because Mitchell had plans to resign before the appeals process and internal investigation could be completed.
Mitchell officially resigned last week. The effective day of resignation is May 26, 2021, Barineau wrote in an email.
Garland Police Chief Jeff Bryan addressed Mitchell’s termination during a civil service commission meeting in August. According to city documents, Mitchell had been “indefinitely” suspended — but the police department said that means he was fired.
“These use of force incidents were not within our policy and were not within the law,” Bryan said. “I have decided that he does not meet our standards.”
The nature of the use of force incidents was not discussed in that meeting, and The Dallas Morning News has filed an open records request for more information. Public institutions have up to 10 business days to respond to an open records request.
Mitchell, 28, started working for Garland police in November 2019, according to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.
He started his career as an officer in Paris, Texas, in 2016 and worked there for about a year and a half before doing a two-month stint as an officer in Mount Pleasant, then returning to Paris for another year.
Mount Pleasant city secretary Darleen Durant said that there were no complaints against Mitchell during his time with the department and that he received an honorable discharge.
The News has requested his personnel files from the three departments.
Before working in law enforcement, Mitchell held two intern positions for almost a year at Cottonwood Creek Church in Allen and worked as a guitar teacher for a year in Dallas, according to his Facebook page. Since this story was first published, his page has been taken down.
A background check performed by The News found that Mitchell had no previous criminal charges, misdemeanors or traffic violations.
The News’ attempts to contact Mitchell for comment were unsuccessful.
Staff researcher Naomi Kaskela contributed to this report.
