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A judge dismissed charges Friday against a fired Dallas police officer, who was accused of shoving a man to the ground and lying in a police report about the man’s August 2009 arrest.
Daniel Babb, 33, had faced one felony count of official oppression and a misdemeanor count of tampering with a government document. He had been scheduled to go to trial this week.
Prosecutors on Friday asked the court to dismiss the charges because the man “has refused to cooperate,” according to a motion filed with the court.
“We’re pleased that the charges have been dropped against Daniel,” said Babb’s attorney, Ted Steinke. “He’s always maintained his innocence from Day 1.”
Steinke said Babb will seek to get his job back through the city’s administrative appeals process.
The criminal charges stemmed from a domestic disturbance that Babb and other officers responded to in August 2009.
According to a police report, a 21-year-old man identified as Jorge Torres grabbed a 14-year-old boy and held him while another man hit him.
According to police records, the officers asked Torres for his name, and he gave a fake name. The report states Torres was sitting on a curb until Babb told him he could stand up because ants were crawling on his hands.
Babb wrote in a report that once Torres stood up, he “felt threatened” and “used a balance displacement technique,” causing Torres to fall back, trip over the curb and fall to the ground. The report describes Torres as agitated, intoxicated and uncooperative.
Torres suffered no serious injury. An injury to a child charge was subsequently dropped.
Another officer notified a sergeant that Babb shoved Torres to the ground for no reason, causing him to hit his head. Babb told the sergeant during a telephone conversation that he lost his temper and shoved Torres.
Babb later told detectives that he “oversimplified the incident” to the sergeant. He told investigators that Torres was agitated and not cooperating and that he tapped Torres’ chest to regain his attention and distract him from thinking about where to run.
Babb was fired in September 2010.
Daniel Babb, 33, had faced one felony count of official oppression and a misdemeanor count of tampering with a government document. He had been scheduled to go to trial this week.
Prosecutors on Friday asked the court to dismiss the charges because the man “has refused to cooperate,” according to a motion filed with the court.
“We’re pleased that the charges have been dropped against Daniel,” said Babb’s attorney, Ted Steinke. “He’s always maintained his innocence from Day 1.”
Steinke said Babb will seek to get his job back through the city’s administrative appeals process.
The criminal charges stemmed from a domestic disturbance that Babb and other officers responded to in August 2009.
According to a police report, a 21-year-old man identified as Jorge Torres grabbed a 14-year-old boy and held him while another man hit him.
According to police records, the officers asked Torres for his name, and he gave a fake name. The report states Torres was sitting on a curb until Babb told him he could stand up because ants were crawling on his hands.
Babb wrote in a report that once Torres stood up, he “felt threatened” and “used a balance displacement technique,” causing Torres to fall back, trip over the curb and fall to the ground. The report describes Torres as agitated, intoxicated and uncooperative.
Torres suffered no serious injury. An injury to a child charge was subsequently dropped.
Another officer notified a sergeant that Babb shoved Torres to the ground for no reason, causing him to hit his head. Babb told the sergeant during a telephone conversation that he lost his temper and shoved Torres.
Babb later told detectives that he “oversimplified the incident” to the sergeant. He told investigators that Torres was agitated and not cooperating and that he tapped Torres’ chest to regain his attention and distract him from thinking about where to run.
Babb was fired in September 2010.
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