WHAT A MESS

Ex-Dallas Cop Charged With Orchestrating Two Murders Walks Free Due to Lack of Evidence

Authorities initially alleged that Bryan Riser paid a friend almost $10,000 to kidnap two people in 2017. The charges are now dropped.

A former Dallas police officer who was arrested last month for allegedly ordering the kidnappings and murders of two people has been freed after the charges against him were abruptly dropped. Bryan Riser faced two counts of capital murder in connection with the 2017 deaths of two victims, 31-year-old Lisa Saenz and 61-year-old Albert Douglas. Authorities initially alleged that Riser paid a friend almost $10,000 to kidnap and kill the pair. However, according to NBC News Dallas-Fort Worth, the charges were dropped during a preliminary hearing Wednesday morning due to insufficient evidence against the recently terminated cop. When he was released later Wednesday, Riser reportedly said: “This department I used to love and respect, they have disrespected me... They’ve embarrassed me and they’ve embarrassed my family all over make-believe lies. I was 100 percent innocent from the get-go.” Dallas police said in a statement that the investigation into the deaths is ongoing.