A Texas police department terminated an officer who killed an unarmed suspect by shooting at him 41 times following a car chase last summer.
Disgraced cop Patrick Tuter had claimed that he feared for his life while pursuing Michael Vincent Allen, but Garland Police Department officials fired him on Friday. Their investigation revealed that the 7-year veteran had rammed his cruiser into Allen's truck, cornered him and twice reloaded his semi-automatic gun while firing 41 shots at him, KXAS reported.
Three bullets struck Allen and the father of a 4-year-old girl died on a cul-de-sac in Mesquite where the 30-minute chase came to an end, CBS News reported. Allen, 25, was wanted for allegedly fleeing police in Sachse days before the Aug. 31 shooting.
"He did not deserve the death sentence," Allen's mother, Stephanie Allen said to KXAS. "Patrick Tuter was not judge and jury, and that's what he made himself out to be."
A Garland police spokesman said Tuter was fired for violating the department's guidelines for pursuit and use of force, the Dallas Morning News reported.
He had been on administrative leave since the shooting.
Police in Mesquite passed along the findings of their investigation to the Dallas County district attorney's office. A grand jury will decide whether to indict Tuter, KTVT reported.