Dallas police sent out a bare-bones press release this morning announcing that officer Matthew Gaines, who has been with the department for two years, is on administrative leave after being arrested at about 5:30 a.m. It didn't give any additional details like where he was arrested. I had no luck finding an incident report in DPD's clunky public access system, and the charges haven't showed up in the county's system either. I called DPD's media relations office, coming away with the impression that they were busy with other things. Finally, they gave me the number for the arrest report, from which I learned that his middle name is Lynn.
Never mind, because Fox 4 has the details. Gaines, the TV station reported, had been drinking at a friend's house in Balch Springs and was driving home to Forney. He thought he was still in Balch Springs where he nearly struck a marked DPD squad car parked at Dixon and 2nd Avenue, a few hundred feet from where James Harper was shot last night, nearly drove off the road twice, then narrowly missed hitting a Dallas County sheriff's vehicle. He was arrested and booked into jail, charged with driving while intoxicated.
Gaines will remain on administrative leave pending completion of criminal and internal affairs proceedings. He's out of jail on a $500 bond.
