Officer denies stealing from Wal-Mart while moonlighting
By TANYA EISERER
The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Tex. — A veteran Dallas police officer with a troubled disciplinary history was fired Tuesday after an internal investigation found that he had shoplifted while moonlighting at Wal-Mart.
Officer Anthony Murray, 46, who has previously been fired and reinstated, denied stealing anything and said he’s guilty only of not adhering to the store’s exchange policy. He was not prosecuted in connection with the incident.
“I’m proud of my 19 years on the job,” said Officer Murray, adding that he would appeal his firing. “My record speaks for itself.”
The investigation began in fall 2006 after Wal-Mart officials reviewed surveillance video and saw Officer Murray put an item in a bag as he worked an overnight shift. He left the store with the bag.
“He looks like he’s doing something inappropriate,” Police Chief David Kunkle said.
Officer Murray said there’s an innocent explanation: He bought the wrong size of pajama pants. Customer service was closed, so he simply did the exchange himself.
He also said that the internal investigation was flawed because store security officials provided the department with a tape of selective footage. He said a review of all the footage would have cleared him.
Chief Kunkle said store officials viewed all the video but saw nothing that backed up Officer Murray’s version of events.
Between 1994 and 1999, Officer Murray was suspended three times for a total of 18 days for violations ranging from failing to take proper action to unnecessarily placing a person in danger.
In June 2000, he was given a 15-day suspension after investigators concluded that he had failed to respond to a call, improperly released a prisoner and lied to a supervisor.
A few months later, he was fired after an internal investigation determined that he had failed to respond to two emergency calls and abused the department’s break-time policy. He was later reinstated by the city manager’s office and demoted to the rank of patrol officer.
Copyright 2007 Dallas Morning News