Dallas police Chief David Brown stated that the police officer who shot a mentally ill man had been fired from the force on Thursday.
Brown announced that former Officer Cardan Spencer was no longer a member of the police force and apologized for the actions that led to the shooting of 52-year-old Bobby Gerald Bennett last week.
Spencer, who worked as a police officer for six years, was terminated after an October 24 hearing that found him guilty of violating policies regarding mentally ill people and the use of force, Dallas Culture Map reported. Spencer could also be charged with aggravated assault. Officials also said that a probe into his partner, Christopher Watson, will begin soon.
Spencer originally wrote in a police report following the incident that Bennett had advanced menacingly toward him and another police officer wielding a knife, and that he drew his firearm and shot in self-defense.
But a neighbor's surveillance camera told another story - in the video, Bennett can be seen standing, not moving, with his hands at his sides, before getting shot and falling to the ground. Watson then is seen rolling Bennett onto his stomach and putting handcuffs on him from behind.
Joyce Jackson, Bennett's mother, said her son is schizophrenic and bipolar.
Bennett is currently at Baylor Hospital, and is in stable condition.
After the video was posted online, the public responded with angry backlash, demanding that Spencer be put on indefinite leave.
