The disturbing video above shows Dallas police officer Cardan Spencer opening firing on what appears to be an unarmed and complying mentally-ill man, 52-year-old Bobby Bennett.
The incident began on October 14 when Joyce Jackson, Bennett’s mother, felt the need to call 9-1-1 for assistance in dealing with her son, who is diagnosed with both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
That’s when the video begins. Bennett is seen sitting on a rolling office chair when the police arrive. Within 20 seconds, Spencer fires four shots into Bennett’s chest. Bennett, who stands up from the chair, never approaches the officer or moves in an intimidating fashion.
In his police report, according to Dallas News, Spencer claims that Bennett had a knife in his right hand and charged at the two officers. Immediatly following the shooting, Bennett was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on an Officer.
Since the emergence of the tape however, the charges against Bennett, who is still in critical condition at a local hospital, have been dropped. Cardan Spencer has been placed on administration leave and may be the subject of a criminal investigation. The other officer on the scene, Christopher Watson, received no administrative leave because he never fired his weapon.
