By MELISSA SÁNCHEZ
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
A man suspected of driving the getaway car after a Dallas police officer was shot was arrested this morning, police said.
The suspect, whose name and age were not released, is being charged with aggravated robbery, police said.
Officer Mark Rickerman remained at Methodist Dallas Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, Senior Cpl. Donna Hernandez said.
“He is in good condition and good spirits ... talking and joking with friends and family,” Hernandez said via e-mail. “He will probably be in the hospital for several days.”
A 17-year-old suspected of robbing the officer, then shooting him was arrested shortly after the incident. Police have not released the suspects’ names because investigators are considering whether the two were involved in other crimes, according to a department news release.
Rickerman was investigating a rash of car burglaries in a southwest Dallas neighborhood early Sunday when a man robbed him of personal belongings at gunpoint, police said. When the man saw Rickerman’s badge, he shot at the officer, hitting him more than once. Rickerman shot back, but the gunman was not hit, police said.
The shooter left in a Ford Crown Victoria driven by a second man. Officers followed the pair for about two miles until the driver jumped out of the car and ran.
The 17-year-old shooting suspect was taken to Lew Sterrett Justice Center. He faces an aggravated robbery charge and a probation violation out of Lancaster, police said.
Rickerman is the third area officer to be shot in the line of duty in the past three weeks. Dallas officer Brian Jackson, 28, was fatally shot after a chase on foot through a Dallas neighborhood Nov. 13, and Fort Worth officer Henry “Hank” Nava, 39, was shot Tuesday as he searched a mobile home for a wanted man. He died late last week; his funeral was Monday.
Fort Worth Star Telegram (http://www.star-telegram.com/)
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