Dallas cop fired for ignoring mother's screams for help

DALLAS - A Dallas police officer has been fired after driving past a woman who pleaded for help in the moments after her children were kidnapped at gunpoint, reports CBS DFW.

Chief David Brown on Wednesday fired Sr. Cpl. Leslie Richardson, who'd been with the force 28 years. The firing stems from an Aug. 25 incident.

Authorities released dash cam video that shows Richardson smoking a cigarette while driving his patrol car that day. A woman is reportedly heard screaming from the road, "That's him, that's him, right there," according to the station.

The voice reportedly belongs to Miesha Kilson, who had just been run off the road by her boyfriend, Stephen Douglas. Kilson had called police to report that Douglas had a gun and took the couple's two children.

Despite the fact that Kilson tried to flag Richardson down, the officer continued to drive past her, yelling, "Right here what, baby? I'm on a call!," reports the station.

Just a minute prior to that, a dispatcher had announced a "shots fired" call with descriptions of the suspect - Douglas - and the victim - Kilson - involved in the domestic violence disturbance. After Richardson drove off, the dispatcher announced that the suspect had "just grabbed the kids."

Richardson was en route to a burglary in progress call, but he should have immediately cleared himself from that call, according to Dallas Police Department policy.

Hours later on the same day, the suspect, Douglas, was shot by police. The children weren't hurt.

After the shooting, Kilson complained that she had unsuccessfully tried to get an officer to stop and help her.

Dallas Police released the following statement regarding Richardson's termination:

"An Internal Affairs investigation concluded that Senior Corporal Richardson placed persons in greater danger than necessary when he failed to take any action as a police officer and made an inappropriate comment to a citizen. The investigation also concluded that he used tobacco product while driving a Dallas police vehicle and failed to immediately clear upon completion of the call he was assigned."

Richardson has the right to appeal his termination, reports the station.