FBI Request for Investigation (Redacted)

7/28/2019 FBI Request for Investigation (Redacted)

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DALL ASCOMMUNITIESORGAN IZ ING FORC HAN GE

July2,2013

Mr. Diego RodriguezSpecial Agent in ChargeFederal Bureau of investigation-Dallas DivisionOne Justice Way Dallas, TX 75220Via U.S. Alai/ andEmail

Collette Flanagan

\VW\v.clintona!len.tumblr.com. www.dallasforchange.com

Re: Req uest to Investigate Shooting Death of Clinton Allen by the Dallas Police DepartmentDear Mr. Rodriguez,

Ms. Collette Flanagan. mother of the victim, and Dallas Communities Organizing for Change, acommunity organization seeking to protect and strengthen civil rights and civil liberties of communities inDallas. TX, respectfully requests that the Federal Bureau of lnvestigationDallas Division, acting pursuant to itsauthority under 18 USC 242 and 18 U S.C. 249, commence an investigation into the shooting death ofClinton Allen, an African American male, on March I0, 2013 by a white Dallas Police Officer, Clark StallerBadge No. 9514. Ms. Flanagan and Dallas Communities Organizing for Change also requests the Civil RightsDivision (C'RO) of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Federal Bureau oflnvestigation-Dallas Division issuea directive requiring the Internal Affairs Division of the Dallas Police Department to de liberate on swornwitness testimony subject to the Clark Staller investigation, and that all sworn witness testimony in submittedand in possession ofCrimes Against Persons (CAPERS) and the Internal Affairs Division(s) of the DallasPolice Department, be submitted in its entirety to the Dallas County District Attorney's Office for considerationat any subsequent Grand Jury hearing.

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The Federal Bureau of n v e s t i g a t i o n ~ D a l l a s Division has jurisdiction. authority, and the responsibility toinvestigate and enforce criminal violations of federal law. 18 U.S.C. 242 a H ~ w s for the criminal prosecutionof an individual acting under the color of law who deprives an individual ofany rights, privileges, orimmunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the Upited States. The Eighth Amendment to ,;,_the Constitution prohibits the use ofcruel and unusual punishment during an arrest or detention. These rightscan be violated by the use of excessive force, up to and including death. 18 U.S.C. 249, otherwise known asThe Ma11hew Shepardand James Byrd, Jr. , Hate Crimes Prevention Acr of2009, authorizes a federalinvestigation as a hate crime when a person, "whether or not acting under the color of law, willfully causesbodily injury to any person or, through the use of a fireann, a dangerous weapon, or an explosive or incendiarydevice, attempts to cause bodily injury to any person because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, ornational origin of any person'"

Officer Staller violated 18 U.S. C. 242 through the willful and deliberate application of excessive forceunder the color of law. This violation deprived Mr. Allen of his most basic human and civil right, the right tolife. Officer Staller has a history of illegal and excessive force against African American's. falsifying reportsand/or fabricating evidence to elude criminal prosecution for his actions. The history of violence againstAfrican American ' s confirms that Officer Stal ler's actions were motivated by Mr. Allen's race and color, inviolation of 18 U.S.C. 249.

The shooting summary and other official reports which are based on a single Officer's statements, aresuspected to be falsified, with evidence intentionally fabricated. Further investigation into the Internal AffairsDivision of the Dallas Police Department may reveal an agency wide culture of corruption and ongoing illegalactivity as it relates to investigating its own officers for alleged misconduct. The shooting death of Mr. Allen isnot merely an issue ofexcessive force or police misconduct, but rather represents the most recent instance in ahistory of systemic human rights failures and civil rights violations, perpetrated by the Dallas PoliceDepartment.

Background

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On March 10,2013 Clinton Allen was shot 7 times by Officer Clark Staller, for reasons that are highlydisputed. According to the shooting summary sent to the FBI by the Dallas Police Department, it ispublicly known that Officer Staller responded to the 91 l call alone, and that there were no other DallasOfficers present as witnesses to the shooting.

Sworn witness statements confirm that the person who made the 911 call,of Allen ' s, no time feared for her life, and at no time stated she feared for her life.

11 dispatch that Allen had no weapon, and that he had not harmed her inany way.

Time of incident, weather reports, and sworn witness testimony confirm that it was dark (evening) andraining leading up to, and during the shooting incident. IdentifYing a suspect at night at a distance isdifficult enough. but with rain and horrible lighting c.onditions added to the situation, it is hardlybelievable that Officer Staller was able to identifY a person from behind, and previously unknown tohim. According to sworn witness statements, Officer Staller arrived at the aparnnent complex. yelled"Where did he go?" Before Ms. had a chance to give Officer Staller any information,he saw someone jump over a balcony fence, and initiated a foot pursuit. Ofticer Staller initiated a footpursuit of an unidentified suspect based solely on race and color.

According to the 911 call and public statements released by the Dallas Police Department. Allenallegedly kicked in a door. There is no mention of this in the shooting summary, or police reportsubmitted by Officer Staller. In fact, an informal conversation with the property manager, DallasCommunities Organizing for Change revealed that a work order requesting that the door be repaired,was never submitted. There is no physical evidence that confinns that the door toapartment was ever kicked in.

Dallas Police General Order 901.02{A)(J) Use of Force defines resistance as a 'subject' s noncompliance to the officer." Depending on the level ofnon-compliance. or resistance applied by thesuspect, the officer may increase control , or "the force an officer uses to influence or neutralize a noncompliant subject." An officer' s use of force is justified and initiated by an officer in response to asubject 's resistance. According to the shooting summary submitted to the FBI, "Officer Staller observedsuspect Allen jump over the fence of a first floor patio area of an apartment. Officer Staller drew hisduty weapon and began giving loud verbal commands .. ."

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At the time Staller drew his weapon, there had been no previous interaction between Allen and OfficerStaller, and at no time did Allen resist in any way which would justify the use of deadly force. Thedrawing of an Officer 's weapon inherently assumes that the use of force will cause death or seriousbodily injury to the suspect and is to be applied under very narrowly defined circumstances. Accordingto Dallas Police General Order 906.02(0) Authorization to Use Deadly Force; ..Officers will only usedeadly force to protect themselves or another person from imminent death or seriously bodily injury.General Order 906.02(E) Drawing or Displaying Firearms: requires that a threat or reasonable beliefthatthere is a threat to life or they have reasonable fear for their own safety and/or the safety of others, existin order to authorize an officer to draw or display hertbi s firearm. As made clear from the shootingsummary submitted to the FBI Dallas Division on March 10,2013 and several sworn witnessstatements. Allen posed no risk to Officer Staller, or any other person before or after the weapon waspulled.

According to eyewimess Pastor - both Allen and Officer Staller were standing in the frontentryway area the apartment complex, specifically 'Building 6". When - w them, Allen had hishands up, while Officer Staller has his gun pointed directly at him, shouting, "Show me yourmotherfucking hands or rm going to bust a cap in your ass." Officer Staller appears to have falsified hisreport by stating that Allen jumped over a first floor railing before being attacked. Pastor_,sworn testimony also supports Gunshots #2, #3, and #4 being fired from a distance, not at close range asreported.

Officer Staller reports during this time that Allen jumped a fence and headed towards him, that astruggle then ensued. and that he attempted to deploy his Taser multiple times. The shooting summarygoes on to describe that after verbal commands were given by Officer Staller, that Allen complied, andthat Staller holstered his weapon and drew a Taser. General Order 901.04{0)(3) Levels ofControl;Electronic Control Weapon (Taser) is an intermediate weapon. and is only justified for situations whenthe officer believes empty hand control will be ineffective. Empty hand control techniques include jointlocks, pressure points, Oleoresin Capsicum Spray, hand held aerosols, and pepper ball saturation, noneofwhich occurred before the drawing of Staller's Taser.

Officer Staller reports that this then escalated into an actual ''fight.", and at some point both individualsflipped over a walkway railing. Officer Clark Staller goes on to report that Allen was then able to get

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behind him, choke him, and lift him of f his feet. In this position, Officer Clark Staller was able to drawhis duty weapon and shoot Clinton Allen seven (7) times, killing him. It is highly questionable whetheror not all ofthese things could have happened in under a minute, as detailed by Pastor -

According to the Dallas County Medical Examiner's Report. six (6) of the seven shots fired were from"front to back", with the remaining shot entering the middle ofAllen's back, fired at close range. Toclarify, Allen was shot in the back at close range by Officer Staller.

Gunshot #2, Gunshot #3, and Gunshot #4 all enter the left upper chest from front to back, but none leaveany soot or stippling. Soot and stippling are commonly known to be caused by shots fired at close ormedium range, which is inconsistent with the sequence of events detailed in Officer Clark Staller'sshooting summary. This raises several questions about the truth of the story told by Officer Staller, andsuggests that at least three of he shots fired were at a distance, and not at close range as reported. Thiswould set the Dallas County Medical Examiner's Report directly at odds with Officer Staller's report.

Is/Stephen BenavidesStephen BenavidesPolicy CoordinatorDallas Communities Organizing for Change255 Pacific St. #1BBrooklyn, NY 11201Tel: (214) 779-8991www [email protected]

Respectfully Submitted,

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FBI Request for Investigation (Redacted)

Documents

Transcript of FBI Request for Investigation (Redacted)