A Texas man is recovering after being shot in the leg by police officers who mistakenly showed up at his home while responding to a call, according to authorities.
Grand Prairie police responded to a disturbance call at a home in the 3000 block of Holly Drive around 1:45 a.m. on Friday, according to local media. However, the caller’s cell phone gave the wrong address, so dispatchers sent cops to a house down the street. That is where Thomas Simpson and his family slept.
Police say they knocked on Simpson’s door for five minutes but no one answered. Then they saw Simpson emerge from his garage in a “aggressive stance” before pointing a gun at officers, who opened fire, striking Simpson.
Simpson told his side of the story during an interview with Dallas Fox affiliate KDFW. He told the television station that he believed intruders were attempting to break into his home.
“What I noticed was the garage door open. I noticed two pairs of legs. So I raised my pistol and prepared to fire, assuming they were criminals,” Simpson explained. “I never got the round off. As soon as the door opened, I noticed their badge. I threw the gun to the ground and got shot in the leg. I dropped to the ground, and the Grand Prairie Police Department fired about eight rounds after I did.
Simpson was the only person hit by the gunfire. One of the bullets struck a pipe, causing it to burst, he said. He claimed that the cops never identified themselves.
“Obviously, I’m not gonna raise my gun to a cop, but I didn’t know,” Simpson joked.
The homeowner was upset, especially because his teenage children were handcuffed in the back of a police cruiser for four hours after the incident.
“They witnessed their daddy being shot. Simpson told KDFW that “we’re going to talk to lawyers and go after everybody responsible for it.” “They should pay. They need to understand that their actions have consequences.
But Simpson said he’s most grateful that everyone in his house survived.
“We are all extremely lucky that no one was killed,” he told WFAA, a local ABC affiliate.
The Dallas County District Attorney’s Office will determine whether criminal charges against Simpson are appropriate.
