Officer Brent Thompson was killed in a shooting in downtown Dallas during a protest. (Photo: LinkedIn)
DALLAS — One of five officers killed in the line of duty when gunfire erupted at a protest in Dallas late Thursday has been identified as DART Officer Brent Thompson. He was married to a fellow transit officer just two weeks ago.
Thompson, 43, was working for Dallas Area Rapid Transit when he fatally shot during a protest decrying police violence. He was the first of the victims to be identified.
He married a fellow transit officer two weeks ago, DART Police Chief James Spiller said.
“As you can imagine, our hearts are broken,” DART said in a statement. “This is something that touches every part of our organization. We have received countless expressions of support and sympathy from around the world through the evening. We are grateful for every message. Thank you.”
Thompson is the first DART officer to be killed in the line of duty. He joined the force in 2009.
“Brent was a great officer,” Spiller said. “He was an outstanding patrol officer as well as a rail officer. We have the highest respect for him.”
Spiller and Gary Thomas, DART’s president/executive director, talked about Thompson and the violence in Dallas in appearances Friday on CNN’s “New Day.”
According to Thompson’s LinkedIn.com profile, he was “motivated by a ” ‘Team’ atmosphere.”
“I enjoy working on challenging tasks and problem solving with my peers. I am constantly looking for different ways to serve the department, this helps to keep my work from becoming sedentary and boring,” the officer said in his LinkedIn summary.
He was one of five officers killed Thursday; at least six others were injured.
Of those injured, three also worked for DART. They are all recovering from their injuries at an area hospital.
Thompson was an international police liaison officer for DynCorp International for nearly five years, starting in 2004, his profile said.
“My last position as an IPLO was Chief of Operations for Southern Iraq. I was responsible for the day to day operations conducted by our American police officers who trained and mentored the Iraqi Police,” he said on his profile.
He was in southern Afghanistan as well, according to the profile, where he was a “Team Leader” and “Lead Mentor” to the “Southern Provincial Police Chief.”
“In all locations we mentored and taught our Iraqi/Afghan counterparts democratic policing, and assisted in the establishment of the police department in these locations.”
During the “New Day” interview, Thomas touched on Thompson’s international service.
“He was a dedicated officer, dedicated to the safety of Americans, all over the world certainly,” he said.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Thompson lived in Carrollton, Texas. Spiller said Thompson hailed from Corsicana, Texas, south of Dallas.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Thompson attended high school there and taught at Navarro College Police Academy, also in Corsicana.
CNN contributed to this report.
