what happened to detective dwayne thompson
But what did you actually tell Michael during the argument? Whos that? Thompson asked, pointing to a man kneeling beside Lord in the front yard. The officer shrugged. You said he was upset and he hollers and starts getting destructive, and the thing is, you said he gets scary. View the profiles of people named Dwayne Thompson. If you fill out the first name, last name, or agree to terms fields, you will NOT be added to the newsletter list. Then she looked at Thompson. In this interrogation method, its deemed acceptable to manipulate through accusations of guilt through an aggressive protocol of nine steps. He stabbed the photo of the victim with his index finger. He was the life of the party.. The towels had been on the floor to soak up the water that had spilled when the dishwasher valve broke. Your email address will not be published. We loved our life together.. On May 9, 2010, plaintiff Hephzibah Olivia Lord, 36, who works in mortgaging, was alone with her boyfriend at his home, in Dallas. Thompson is the one whos gotten away with the crime., Lord told me that she was not surprised to hear that the police departments Public Integrity Unit had ignored the civil jurys verdict and cleared Thompson. Why wasnt that enough? Filing in behind him were at least a dozen of his fellow homicide detectives, there to show support. People drink all the time who own guns, Thompson said. Weve been detectives for a long time, and we understand that sometimes things happen and we cant always control the situation, he said. She helped him with his finances, reminding him to pay his bills and to keep his spending in line. Dallas Homicide Detective Dwayne Thompson revisits an empty plot of land where a grizzly double homicide had occurred years prior.Subscribe for more The Firs. Lord seemed shocked. As one Dallas County prosecutor put it, They can, even for the most well-intentioned of reasons, get too focused on making an arrest at the detriment of the true story., Mitchell began evaluating Thompsons case against Lord. He was wearing a T-shirt, khaki shorts, and sandals. Shearin asked if Thompson had mentioned that an inebriated Burnside had shown the Beretta to his friend that night. Thompson and Lundberg started talking. Thompson studied Lord and Jaffe for a moment, then walked over to them. Compared with Thompson, Lundberg was a quiet man who wore glasses and spoke slowly. The trial finally began in a federal courtroom in downtown Dallas this past Januarynearly four years after the shooting. Jaffe told him that Mikey was a good ol boy who liked hunting and fishing. You did! (For a more complete description of the interrogation, check out Dallas Morning News coverage from the day that the jury was shown the interrogation videotape.). Thompson, a 21-year veteran of the Police Department, has been a homicide detective since 2006. Thompson started his career in law enforcement as a corrections officer in a maximum-security prison in South Carolina. Another detective, Dwayne Thompson, charged into the interrogation room. In his free time, he read Civil War history and played Internet chess. W.D. When Dallas Detective Dwayne Thompson checks out a missing persons apartment and finds it covered in blood, he's launched into one of the strangest cases in his career--a case that he must s Read allWhen Dallas Detective Dwayne Thompson checks out a missing persons apartment and finds it covered in blood, he's launched into one of the strangest cases in his career--a case that he must solve without the victim's body. . That doesnt mean they kill themselves.. City attorneys are defending him, saying he acted in good faith and without malice. Look at it! I heard what I thought was glass shattering really loud, Lord said. Rastegar again tried to explain what he had heard Lord say that night. But Lord wanted her arrest to be permanently removed from her record, which would require her to be no-billed by a grand jury, a finding in which the jurors refuse to indict a suspect, primarily for a lack of evidence. Lord claimed that Burnside, who was intoxicated, shot himself.Thompson rejected the theory that Burnside committed suicide and investigated the death as murder. Mitchell eventually told Shearin that she was willing to dismiss the charges against Lord. Skip Hollandsworth specializes in long-form narratives. The First 48 (2004- ) Dallas Detective Dwayne Thompson hunts for a band of carjacking killers that are terrorizing a neighborhood. Dwayne Thompson Associate (Antitrust, Competition and Trade) at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Lord spent the next four days at her mothers home in the Dallas suburbs, lying in bed, taking sleeping pills. It found that two particles characteristic of primer gunshot residue had been discovered on the back of Burnsides right hand and that one particle characteristic of primer gunshot residue had been discovered on the back of Lords left hand. The Dallas City Council on Wednesday approved a settlement of more than $1 million to a . Then Shearin got his big break. Thompson also had not told the Burnsides that he had misread a crucial piece of evidence. You fing shot him! he bellowed, nearly coming out of his chair. The detective told him that he was doing what he could. Thompson formed his hand into the shape of a gun and pointed at his jawline, aiming upward at a 70-degree angle, which infuriated Shearin, who accused Thompson of wildly exaggerating the location and angle of the shot. But there was no corruption involved. Lord explained again and again that while she was in the bathroom, her boyfriend shot himself (they had been fighting, he was drunk). What do you guys think? And whats really frightening is that Thompson could come back after me, plant some new fake evidence, and arrest me for murder again. Okay, fine. Ill tell you this about Mikey: his motto was I love my life. Every time something worked out, hed be like, I love my life. In fact, Jaffe said, Burnside had used that very phrase that evening because his company was about to bill $70,000 for work it had done in a single week. . She also said that when he got angry, he could be a little scary and that he threw stuff in the house. She would usually ignore him when he got into one of his moods, but this time it had only made him angrier. Dallas Detective Dwayne Thompson and the homicide team investigate the brutal double murders of two friends shot and burned beyond recognition in the trunk of a car. Tittle maintains that Thompson never considered the idea that Burnside may have accidentally shot himself, despite evidence that he was drunk at the time and had a history of being reckless with firearms. (For a philosophy class, she wrote a paper on Socrates being sentenced to death under false charges.) Tittle then had the jurors watch Thompsons interview with Lord and Lundbergs interview with Rastegar. In 2008, when the producers of The First 48, a reality series on the A&E network about homicide detectives in big-city police departments, came to Dallas to film some episodes, they were riveted by Thompson. But Tittle said the evidence simply did not point to that conclusion. One of his tasks was to take boxes of cold-case files out of the death room, where all homicide files are kept, and haul them to a storage area in city hall. He calmly explained that his ferocious questioning of Lord after the shooting was nothing more than a technique used by detectives in police departments around the countrythe direct method, he called itin which a suspect is openly accused of a crime to see how he or she reacts. Thompson, a 21-year veteran of the Police Department, has been a homicide detective since 2006. And the bullet had exited toward the top of the left side of Burnsides head. Tittle then asked about Rastegar. See production, box office & company info. West Texans Are Learning What It Means to Live in Bear Country, Jimmy Carters Peanut-and-Egg Taco Made Quite the Impression on San Antonians, The Top 50 Texas BBQ Joints: 2021 Edition, The Campaign to Sabotage Texass Public Schools. No, said Lord. Shearin made his own presentation, about 25 minutes in length, laying out the case for his clients innocence. They too had been talking to Thompson and they were furious. A retired Dallas police officer acting as an expert witness for Lord told the jury there was no evidence that Lord shot Burnside. | Editor But I dont know how to do it. Then his own cellphone rang. Shearin called a friend in the homicide unit to ask about Thompson, whom he had never met. Tittle said that Thompson told one of Burnsides friends within 12 hours of the death that he would bet his career that Lord killed Burnside. Basically she said, I know the kind of stuff that goes on in Vegas, Jaffe told Thompson. I wasnt going to leave him. The arrest affidavit had never mentioned that Rastegar had backed off during his interview. I believe that with all my heart.. A jury in federal civil court ruled Friday that a Dallas homicide detective, Dwayne Thompson, violated Lord's civil rights by maliciously having her arrested for a killing she didn't commit,. Lord explained again and again that while she was in the bathroom, her boyfriend shot himself (they had been fighting, he was drunk). Jaffe was sitting in a plastic chair next to a small table pushed against a wall. The jury determined Friday that Dallas homicide Detective Dwayne Thompson showed a reckless disregard for the civil rights of 36-year-old Hephzibah Olivia Lord. Lets solve some murders, my brothers, he would cheerfully bellow as he barreled into the office at the beginning of his shifts. For her part, Lord said that she would gladly give up any money in return for Thompsons being sent to prison. Michael Lowe is Celebrating Over 20 YEARS of Service. City attorneys are defending him, saying he acted in good faith and without malice. After the First 48 (2008- ) More at IMDbPro. Shearin paid a visit to Reade Quinton, the medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Burnside, to ask him why, just prior to Lords arrest, he had changed his ruling about the cause of death from pending to homicide. Quinton replied that Thompson had informed him about the statement made by Rastegar. Thompson, a 21-year veteran of the Police Department, has been a homicide detective since 2006. A few days after the funeral, Lord called Burnsides brother to ask if she could retrieve some of her belongings from the house. | Recent Lawyer Listings One of the few black detectives in the unit, Thompson quickly made his mark. Burnside had been involved in a couple of accidents. Hephzibah Olivia Lord, age 36, sued Dallas homicide detective Dwayne Thompson on civil rights violation theories under 42 U.S.C. I loved my boyfriend.. I had the impression that she told me that [Burnside] had nothing to do with it and she did it. But he refused to say, like he had said on his porch, that he had definitely heard Lord confess to the shooting. . A bullet hole was in a wall near the ceiling. He asked Thompson if he had told one of Burnsides friends that this was the case of a lifetimethe kind of case that could make him famous. She was arrested in 2010 for the . Thompson testified that Lord had little blood on her hands and that she smelled of cleaning solution, which led him to believe she had washed her hands. Prosecutors are also aware that detectives can develop a kind of tunnel vision about a case. She was so in love with him that she was always able to forgive him when he screwed uplike the night of her birthday, when he got rip-roaring drunk, staggered around the restaurant, and didnt even pay for dinner. Do I feel an overwhelming feeling of guilt because I may have provoked something? A Right-wing Cabal Took Over Odessas Municipal Government. Its difficult to go out in public without thinking someone is saying, Theres the girl who killed her boyfriend., Right at that moment, a waiter walked up, clearly taken with her, and asked if she was ready to order. Lundberg conducted the interview because Thompson had a prior commitment to teach a class at the police academy. Olivia, youre not telling me the truth, Thompson told her. Jaffe said that he and Burnside had been drinking earlier that evening. She had then grabbed the bottles of cleaning products from under the sink to wash away the blood and the gunpowder residue, which would account for the chemical odor he thought he had smelled on her. He first worked in patrol, where he was assigned to some of the citys tougher neighborhoods, and then spent ten years as a detective in the robbery and property crimes division before being promoted to homicide, in 2007. See full summary . Lord was charged with murder a month after her boyfriend shot himself. Witnesses can shift their statements from one day to the next. "The goal is to arrive at the truth." Im just as baffled as you are, she said. (Thompson still hadnt told anyone outside his office about the discrepancy.) If I discover anything that substantiates what I believe, Im going to charge you with murder., He glared at her for a moment. Was she Miss Right or Miss Right Now? Thompson asked. Will detectives be able to catch the killers before they strike again? The day after the verdict, Thompson was placed on desk duty. But the man I loved is gone forever. Thompson said he had heard that Burnside was making money. Ive never seen anything like it, Sanders said. The Dallas Police Department is featured in a national reality TV show on the A&E network called The First 48, (maybe youve seen it if not, watch episodes here) and the detective who interrogated Hephzibah Olivia Lord in a manner that justified Lords civil suit for damages was Dallas Detective Dwayne Thompson, who has been seen frequently on this A&E show. Bring on the Shiplap? Lord said that she and Burnside had gotten into an argumentsomething about a birthday party. Read the crime and public safety news your neighbors are talking about. Lord could hardly look at him. They make honest, reasonable mistakes. By that time, Lord was working as a loan officer, and although they were both romantically involved with other people, they were clearly attracted to each other. Jaffe said he had sped back to Burnsides home, arriving at the same time as the paramedics. Who cares? 3. Shearin ordered Lords cellphone records and received more good news: there was no seven-minute gap in her calls. Thompson told Rastegar to go to the station and make an official recorded statement, which Thompson later used to obtain an arrest warrant charging Lord with murder. Alternative . Thompson did his best to defend himself. Her fight for justice here began around 3 years ago and ended with last weeks jury verdict. Because that is the only thing that makes sense.. It was Lundberg, who had gone to Parkland to examine Burnsides body. Thompson thanked John and told him he would be back in touch. He says he knows, without a shadow of a doubt, that he got the goods on Lordand she not only avoided prosecution, she made a lot of money. During the lengthy interrogation, Thompson repeatedly accused Lord of murdering Michael Burnside, who died in May 2010 from a gunshot wound to the head from his 9 mm Beretta handgun while drunk on vodka and Red Bull. A 9mm Beretta was also on the floor about five feet from where Burnsides body had been. Every day, dozens of times a day, I think about that talk and how I wish I could take it all back, she told me. There were too many unanswered questions, he said. Thompson misrepresented any facts or falsified any government documents. They also declared that there was no evidence that Det. In Texas, both federal and state laws exist to protect people like Hephzibal Olivia Lord from being overwhelmed and mistreated by police during criminal investigations. Jaffe said he had been at the house earlier that evening, helping Burnside install a dishwasher while Lord was painting the doors and baseboards, and that he had left before midnight. She walked to the front of the chapel to look at Burnside in his casket, and her legs nearly buckled as she said his name. Or maybe, as Thompson theorized, Lord had missed some of the residue on her hand and her shirt when she cleaned herself up after pulling the trigger. Of course not, she said. Im devastated., Thompson bore down. When Michael Burnside was found dead in his Dallas home four years ago, detective Dwayne Thompson decided that the victim's girlfriend, Olivia Lord, had pulled the trigger. I did start dating a guy not long ago, she said after the waiter left. Five years later, Lord clearly remains tormented by that conversation, haunted by the idea that she might have said something that pushed her boyfriend into committing an impulsive act that no one could have imagined him doing. And its going to come out.. He told Thompson that his son had had the most positive personality of anyone he had ever met. He called Jaffe, who had also turned against Lord, to see if he could help him locate her. Believe me, she adored Michael with all of her heart. We were joking around about somethingI dont remember whatand I said, Hey, wheres your Beretta? And he opened up [a kitchen drawer] and said, Its right here.. Only Burnside and Lord were in the apartment where they lived at the time. Join Facebook to connect with Dwayne Thompson and others you may know. Burnsides family and friends were caught off guard by the lawsuit. Stars Heaven Bellinger Linda Carden Sheila Cooks See production, box office & company info Watch on A&E Maybe, Jaffe speculated, when Burnside and Lord had started arguing, he had declared that he was never going to marry her, which sent Lord into a tailspin and led her to grab the gun. 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