A Dallas officer who shot a Black Lives Matter protester with pepper balls more than two years ago has been cleared by police without a public explanation.
The police chief and city officials would not comment on the investigation into Sgt. Roger Rudloff or release the final report, saying it would interfere with litigation stemming from the shooting.
Police closed the administrative inquiry in June, The Dallas Morning News learned. They did not inform the woman who was shot, Jantzen Verastique, her lawyer David Henderson said. Officials disclosed the decision to The News after reporters sought an update on the case.
The decision is the 19th time Rudloff has been cleared following allegations of excessive force, racial profiling or other misconduct, a review of his three decades on the force shows. In most of the cases, investigators said there was not enough proof to substantiate the complaints.
Chief Eddie Garcia also would not say whether Rudloff will be reinstated to the job he held in covert operations at the time of the 2020 George Floyd protests. For the last two years, Rudloff has been on restricted duty in various roles including the auto pound, where he is now stationed, to limit his contact with the public.
The decision marks the end of multiple law enforcement probes of the incident. An August 2020 News investigation published photos and video footage of Rudloff’s shooting of Verastique, who is Latina, and arrests of Black protesters.
For civil rights advocates, images of the pepper-ball shooting fueled concerns about police aggression against people of color — the very issue sparking nationwide protests.
Victim advocates and law enforcement experts have criticized Dallas police for their leniency and secrecy in the handling of the incident. Last year, a criminal investigation by the department cleared Rudloff of assault.
The public deserves to know whether Rudloff will return to the streets, said John Fullinwider, co-founder of Mothers Against Police Brutality.
“This officer is a danger to the public,’’ he said. “We cannot risk that his next violent act against a resident will prove fatal.’’
Rudloff and his lawyer, Robert Rogers, declined to comment for this story. Rogers has previously called the complaints baseless.
Experts who reviewed evidence of the pepper-ball shooting collected by The News said the photos, videos and witness accounts show Rudloff’s actions were illegal. Officers often justify use of force by saying they feared for their safety. But Rudloff demonstrated intent to “harm and dehumanize” when he did not provide Verastique with medical care and showed hostility toward another protester, said Herb Tanner, a consultant for the National District Attorneys Association.
The News’ investigation detailed how Rudloff and other officers stormed and arrested George Floyd protesters on a highway access road west of downtown Dallas. Verastique, the woman who was hit by the pepper balls, and a friend said they pleaded with officers to leave the protesters alone when Rudloff trained his pepper-ball gun on her.
Two demonstrators, including a freelance photographer at the scene, said she posed no threat to Rudloff.
The photographer, Chris Rusanowsky, captured the moment Rudloff fired his pepper-ball gun — a crowd-control device used for launching chemical rounds at the ground or other surfaces — into her breast from a few feet away. Verastique was dressed in workout clothes and holding a pink cellphone. Smoke rises from her shirt. In the background, other officers are zip-tying demonstrators face down.
Rudloff arrested Verastique and several other protesters, as well as the freelance photographer who took the picture. Charges were dropped against them following a News report documenting what appeared to be baseless arrests of other demonstrators.
After the shooting, body-cam footage from another officer at the scene showed Rudloff kneeing a protester, Parker Nevills, in the stomach. Nevills ran up to Rudloff objecting to the shooting. Rudloff told Nevills he was under arrest. After Nevills put his hands behind his back to be handcuffed, Rudloff swung his knee into him.
Police investigators did not conclude that Rudloff used inappropriate force against Nevills. They found that Rudloff failed to be “courteous and civil.” His discipline: a written admonishment.
Verastique and the photographer have filed federal civil rights suits against the city alleging false arrest, excessive force and First Amendment violations. Dallas’ city attorneys have argued in court filings that Rudloff and other officers acted without malice or intent to violate the protesters’ rights. They also say that, as a city employee, he should be immune from damages.
Last September, The News reported that Rudloff has been investigated two dozen times for misconduct. At least 18 cases involved brutality, racial profiling or other allegations, most brought by people of color. He was rarely disciplined. He once was suspended for 10 days — after beating a Black man with his flashlight, sending him to the hospital. His discipline in other cases were written admonishments or counseling.
In October, the Dallas County district attorney’s office notified the police department that it was placing Rudloff on its Brady List of officers accused or found guilty of serious misconduct, officials said. Such a listing can be damaging to future criminal cases brought by those officers because their histories must be disclosed to defense lawyers.
The DA’s office also launched its own investigation into the pepper-ball shooting. A grand jury declined to indict Rudloff in November.
Though the department is withholding the report that cleared Rudloff of administrative violations, other recently released documents tied to the criminal investigation may offer some insight.
The records say Rudloff told criminal investigators in December 2020 that he feared Verastique was going to “run over” him and another officer “because of her large stature.”
Rudloff told The News in an interview months earlier that he fired at Verastique because “she wasn’t doing what we told her to.”
Administrative findings in excessive force cases, as well as in criminal cases, often turn on an officer’s perception of a threat to himself or others.
The documents also cite a department policy that allows the pepper-ball gun to be fired on people who pose a threat, as long as the rounds do not strike the head, neck or spine.
After The News informed Verastique on Monday that police had cleared Rudloff, she said she was disappointed, but had expected the result given the outcome of the criminal investigation. Dallas residents have a right to know whether Rudloff will be allowed to make arrests again, she said.
As for Rudloff’s statement that she posed a threat to him?
“It’s ridiculous,’’ she said. “I’m only 5-6, 170 pounds. I do remember he’s shorter than me.”
Henderson, Verastique’s lawyer, said he is looking forward to his client getting her day in court. The police department only sought to protect Rudloff from serious penalties, he said.
“Look at what the police have done: They’ve disregarded all the photographic evidence, as well as the testimony of the most objective person at the scene — the photographer,’’ Henderson said. “Has the department actually investigated Rudloff’s apparent false arrest of the photographer? No.”
Staff writers Ari Sen and Kelli Smith contributed to this report.
