Investigators say they believe Dallas police chief’s son shot suburban officer, another man

Dallas police chief’s son suspected of killing cop

LANCASTER, Texas — Investigators said Monday they believe the 27-year-old son of Dallas Police Chief David Brown shot and killed a man at a suburban apartment complex and then opened fire on responding officers, killing one, before being shot to death.

Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez said investigators were still sorting out details, but it appeared David Brown Jr. shot Jeremy McMillan, 23, on Sunday evening and opened fire on Officer Craig Shaw and others when they responded.

Shaw, 37, was killed, the first officer to die in the line of duty in Lancaster, a city of 35,000 about 15 miles south of Dallas.

Brown died after other officers returned fire.

“This is a difficult time for all of us in law enforcement,” Valdez said.

She would not discuss how Brown and McMillan knew one another or what the motive for the shooting might have been.

Investigators found several weapons in Brown’s home and car, she said.

Dallas Police Chief David Brown declined comment Monday through spokeswoman Senior Cpl. Janice Crowther. On Sunday, his department had issued a statement saying he was mourning both deaths.

Lancaster Police Chief Keith Humphrey said Shaw’s death was devastating.

“This community has lost a good officer, and we want you to understand we are heartbroken,” said Humphrey, who added that Shaw was married with a 13-year-old daughter and a 7-year-old son.

“What makes this so devastating was that this was Father’s Day,” he said. “You have an officer who was selfless, working on Father’s Day so that the citizens of this city could be safe. A selfless officer who was always the first to respond.”

The younger Brown had one previous brush with the law. He was arrested on suspicion of selling marijuana in Waxahachie in 2003, but he pleaded no contest and was convicted of a misdemeanor. In an interview with The Dallas Morning News earlier this year, the police chief said he was proud of how his son grew after the incident.

Humphrey said he believed the younger Brown lived at the apartment complex.

Lancaster Sgt. Derek Clark said Shaw was a good father who loved to fish and had been spending time fixing up an old bass boat.

“We talked all the time about his son playing baseball,” Clark said.

Flags were at half staff Monday outside the police department in Lancaster. Mourners left flowers and balloons near a patrol car parked outside the building.

A communitywide prayer vigil was scheduled for Wednesday morning at the First United Methodist Church of Lancaster. A candlelight vigil is scheduled for outside Lancaster’s police headquarters Thursday night. Shaw’s funeral is scheduled for Saturday morning at The Inspiring Body of Christ Church in far southwest Dallas.