Dallas Rapid Transit Authority (DART) Officer Brent Thompson died in the Thursday night ambush on Dallas Police Officers. The 43-year-old policeman was one of five officers killed in the line of duty on Thursday, and one of four DART casualties that night. Sadly, Officer Thompson is the first DART officer to be killed in the line of duty.
“Brent was a great officer,” DART Chief James Spiller told MSNBC early Friday. “He has served admirably during his time here at DART.” Our hearts go out to Officer Thompson’s family and the other families of officers who were injured last night.
What Happened?
Although the exact circumstances of Officer Brent’s death haven’t been made public, it’s clear that Officer Thompson was one of the Dallas police officers targeted in Thursday’s sniper ambush. The attacks interrupted a once-peaceful Black Lives Matter protest, a march in response to the deaths of two black men by police in 24 hours.
Five police officers were killed on Thursday night/Friday morning and eleven more were wounded. It’s the deadliest attack on servicemen here in the United States since 9/11.
Police have captured three suspects, two of whom were cornered and caught, the third of whom was a female arrested in a parking garage. There was a fourth suspect who was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Who Was Brent Thompson?
Brent was a 43-year-old officer of the Dallas Rapid Transit Authority, and was a patrol officer on-duty the night of the Dallas ambush. The chief of DART police force said in a statement that he had gotten married to fellow police officer just two weeks ago.
Brent was also a father and grandfather.
Previously, Thompson had worked as a security officer in Afghanistan and Iraq. He trained and mentored local police forces on the idea of “Democratic Policing.” It was also his job to teach police how to survive ambushes, just like the one in downtown Dallas. He was interviewed in this NY Times article about Aghanistani police officers who were easy targets for terrorists.
