Seagoville Flashback
More than a decade ago, a “horrific” pre dawn 911 call led Seagoville officers to a barricaded home on Fran Street, and to a scene that ended in two deaths. We revisit the case that put the department’s deadly force policy, and the Texas Rangers, in the spotlight.
It was around 5 a.m. on Saturday, November 28, 2015, when a 911 dispatcher in Seagoville took a call no one is ever prepared for. According to the Seagoville Police Department, the caller “announced that he was committing a murder” inside a home in the 600 block of Fran Street. By the time the sun came up, a man and a woman were both dead, and a 26 year veteran officer was on administrative leave.
A barricaded home, and a charge toward officers
Three uniformed Seagoville officers responded under what the department called a barricaded person protocol, setting up a perimeter around the residence, according to a department news release reported by CBS Texas and inForney.com. Within minutes of the officers arriving, the suspect, a 50 year old man, came out of the home and, in the department’s words, “charged aggressively at officers.” Police said he was armed with both a knife and a blunt object.
Seagoville Police Capt. Steve Davis, in a written statement reported by WFAA, said the officer’s response was not optional. The 26 year veteran of the department “was forced to use deadly force,” Davis said. The officer was not publicly identified, and no officers were hurt in the encounter, WFAA reported.
The suspect was taken to a Dallas area hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
A second victim found inside the home
While officers were dealing with the man outside, others made a grim discovery inside the residence. A 49 year old woman, identified by police as the suspect’s girlfriend, was found “bludgeoned to death” inside the home, according to the Seagoville Police Department’s account to CBS Texas.
Police said the man and woman lived together at the Fran Street address and were in a relationship, and that no one else was inside the home at the time. The department did not say at the time whether the man who was shot was the same person who had called 911 to report the killing, leaving that detail unresolved in the public record. Investigators also did not release either victim’s identity in the immediate aftermath, according to CBS Texas and inForney.com.
Texas Rangers called in, as is standard
As is standard procedure for officer involved shootings in Texas, the Texas Rangers were called in to independently investigate the shooting, while the involved officer was placed on routine administrative leave pending the outcome, Seagoville PD confirmed to multiple outlets, including CBS Texas and WFAA.
Seagoville Police Chief Ray Calverley spoke with inForney.com in the hours after the shooting, confirming the basic details of the officer’s tenure and the chain of events, though the chief offered no judgment at that early stage on whether the shooting would ultimately be ruled justified.
Looking back, nearly eleven years later
This case remains one of the more harrowing entries in Seagoville’s recent history, a reminder that even a small town department can be thrust, with no warning, into a fast moving and deadly situation before sunrise. We were not able to confirm a final, publicly reported resolution to the Texas Rangers investigation or any grand jury action in this case, so readers seeking the most current status should contact the Seagoville Police Department or the Dallas County District Attorney’s office directly.
This Seagoville Flashback is based on reporting from CBS Texas, WFAA, and inForney.com from November 2015.
