In the end, the posting to the Dallas Police Department's Facebook page, made moments ago, probably comes as no surprise. But as of today, Stormy Magiera is no longer a Dallas Police officer. The announcement comes days after the officer, decorated by Chief David Brown in November for saving the residents of a burning building, was arrested for getting into a fight with her husband, fellow Dallas Police Lt. Mike Magiera, at their home in Murphy. According to today's announcement: "The Internal Affairs Division's investigation determined that Sergeant Magiera escalated the disturbance and caused injury to a family member."
Magiera began the new year as she left the old one: under investigation. DPD tonight reveals that mysterious incident at Forest and Audelia on December 28, the one where Magiera said she was attacked by a man with a knife who got away with her gun, was all a lie. "Sergeant Magiera had been attempting to obtain a controlled substance (hydrocodone) without a prescription," says the release, which also notes this is far from the end of that. "Sergeant Magiera has two more pending criminal allegations related to this incident."
And there is more, much more, not to mention her lawsuit against the city involving allegations of sexual discrimination and retaliation. The entire adios, which also just arrived from DPD HQ, follows. It notes: "Under civil service rules, officers have rights to appeal disciplinary action."
This is not the sole announcement made by DPD tonight. Another, involving the just-finished review of Mickey East's case files, also follows. Long story short: Cases are being filed; more are on the way. And East, who took home case files, will be disciplined. At a later date.
Dallas Police Chief David O. Brown Terminates a Police Sergeant
Chief of Police David O. Brown terminates a police sergeant today during disciplinary hearings. Sergeant Stormy Magiera, #7960, was terminated for multiple allegations stemming from her actions in several incidents occurring over a short period of time. The incidents involving Sergeant Stormy Magiera are as follows:
· On July 7, 2011, Sergeant Magiera assisted another officer in affecting an arrest. It was determined that Sergeant Magiera violated the Department's TASER use policy and used inappropriate force during the arrest and immediately following the arrest. Sergeant Magiera also provided the officer who was documenting the use of force in the Department's records system with inaccurate information about the incident. Sergeant Magiera has pending criminal allegations related to this incident.
· On July 10, 2011, while responding to a call for police service, Sergeant Magiera allowed a subordinate to operate a vehicle in a manner in violation of Department policy and failed to take action. Once at the call location, Sergeant Magiera failed to follow proper procedures when she instructed officers not to call for a Physical Evidence Section detective after it was determined the complainant had been stabbed.
· On December 28, 2011, Sergeant Magiera, who was off-duty, discharged her weapon at a man who she claimed was attempting to rob her at knifepoint. A criminal investigation into the alleged robbery revealed the offense did not occur and that Sergeant Magiera had been attempting to obtain a controlled substance (hydrocodone) without a prescription. The subsequent Internal Affairs Division investigation determined Sergeant Magiera had been obtaining a controlled substance through misrepresentation which is a violation of the Health and Safety Code. In addition to the administrative investigation, the Public Integrity Unit has made a Grand Jury referral for Tampering with or Fabricating Physical Evidence F/3. This referral was made today. Also, Sergeant Magiera has two more pending criminal allegations related to this incident.
· On January 30, 2012, Sergeant Magiera was involved in a disturbance which resulted in her arrest by the Murphy Police Department for Assault M/A (Family Violence). The Internal Affairs Division's investigation determined that Sergeant Magiera escalated the disturbance and caused injury to a family member.
Sergeant Magiera was hired on September 22, 2000, and most recently assigned to the Property Unit.
Under civil service rules, officers have rights to appeal disciplinary action.
The department will not be providing sound or further comment on this investigation.
Committee Findings of Improperly Handled Cases by a Family Violence Detective
In 2009, new supervisors were assigned to the Family Violence Unit. While trying to determine how many cases each detective was assigned and the status of the cases, the new supervisors discovered that Detective Mickey East improperly stored case files at his home. A committee of experienced detectives and supervisors was formed to examine the cases assigned to Detective East. This committee reviewed 597 files which resulted in 208 cases being filed.
In December of 2011, Chief of Police David O. Brown formed a second committee to review all of Detective East's files. This committee reviewed 2,274 files which included the 597 files reviewed by the initial committee. This review resulted in an additional 4 cases being filed and 14 cases are pending additional information. It was also found that 508 instances of re-victimization occurred. Re-victimization is when the complainant on a reviewed offense had one or more offenses committed against them by the same suspect on a later date.
A disciplinary hearing for Detective Mickey East will be held at a later date.
Some of the improvements made as a result of the file reviews are the addition of one sergeant and six detectives to reduce the caseload. The department has also implemented two new databases to increase supervisors' ability to monitor case load and progress for individual detective.
The Police Department realizes the impact an incident like this can have on victims and the public trust. Accordingly, the department has conducted a thorough review and implemented safeguards to prevent a recurrence of this nature. The department will continue to examine and improve the investigative process to provide the highest level of commitment to better serve the citizens of Dallas.
The department will not be providing sound or further comment on this investigation.
