Dallas, TX- (4) Police Officers Shot 2-16-06

[Truck4 48]

Date: 2-16-06

Time: 0650hrs

Location: 1200 Oak Park Drive

Departments: Dallas SWAT, Dallas PD, DEA

Description: (4) SWAT officers shot during warrant execution.

Writer: Truck4

4 officers shot in South Dallas

Four experienced Dallas SWAT officers were in good condition Thursday after they were shot with a high-powered rifle while attempting to serve a drug warrant in the Red Bird area.

Two men, a woman and a juvenile were taken into custody, police said.

At a news conference at Parkland Memorial Hospital, Chief David Kunkle said the officers were able to talk and "in good spirits."

"They're still doing medical tests, but it appears there may have not been any broken bones or permanent injuries associated with the gunshot wounds," he said, noting that they all had worn bulletproof vests and helmets. "We believe we were very, very fortunate, because it appears that all of the injuries are very, very treatable."

As of noon, three officers had been released from Parkland. Sr. Cpl. Dale Hackbarth, who suffered a leg injury, was being kept overnight for observation, police said.

Police said the officers were attempting to serve a warrant with the Drug Enforcement Administration during what is known as a "knock and announce" operation at a one-story brick home in the 1200 block of Oak Park Drive.

Wounded officers

Sr. Cpl. Harry Deltufo

Service time: 16 years

Injury: ear

Sr. Cpl. Dale Hackbarth

Service time: 21 years

Injury: leg

Sr. Cpl. Adolfo Perez

Service time: 10 years

Injury: chest

Sgt. Kenneth Wilkins

Service time: 24 years

Injury: hand

They arrived at the home, which is surrounded by a 6-foot iron fence, about 6:50 a.m. in an armored personnel carrier. They announced via loudspeaker that they were going to deliver the arrest and search warrant. As the officers approached the door, shots were fired from inside the house, police said.

"We’re trying to determine right now if one individual was shooting or more," Lt. Rick Watson said.

At that point, an officer crashed the vehicle through the fence, ripping the concrete supports from the ground. He maneuvered the carrier between the downed officers and the house and pulled them to safety. Then a chemical agent was released into the house to flush them out, Lt. Watson said.

Another police official, who did not wish to be identified, noted that the officers already had been to the home of an associate. When the police pulled up in front of the Oak Park home, "they felt that he knew they were coming," she said.

"The officers did return fire," she said.

One suspect was injured and taken to Methodist Hospital, police said.

Residents in the tidy, middle-class neighborhood described being awakened by gunshots.

Latasha Brown, 29, was leaving her home to drive her children to school when the bullets started coming through the windows.

"A lot of police officers were trying to get into the house," Ms. Brown said. "They were pounding the door. You could hear windows breaking and everything going crazy. They were yelling, ‘Get down. Get on the ground. Get down.’"

"I heard three or four gunshots back to back," said neighbor Teresa Duran, 38. "I was like, ‘Wait. You never hear that around here.’ Then I heard more shots. Then I thought, ‘Wait. That’s no flat tire.’"

Levette Grant, 25, lives directly across the street from the home where the shooting took place.

"Pop. Pop. Pop. It sounded just like firecrackers. I went outside, but they told me to go back in and I watched from my dining room window," she said. "I saw one officer crouched over my brother’s car holding his wrist and there was blood."