A man who was killed during a standoff with Dallas SWAT police officers worked security for Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) and was also pretending to be a police officer, according to multiple reports.
The man, known as Mike King, reportedly ran a business, Off Duty Police Services, that “placed officers in off-duty jobs,” sources explained to CBS News Texas. King was also reportedly “wanted for impersonating a law enforcement officer.”
King was killed after he ran into a parking garage on Wednesday and pulled “a gun” on police after he was “forced” out of a vehicle by the use of tear gas, according to the outlet:
King was killed Wednesday night after a standoff with Dallas police SWAT officers. Police say he fled into a hospital parking garage, barricaded himself inside a vehicle, and was forced out by tear gas before pulling a gun on officers.
Sources say he was wanted for impersonating a law enforcement officer and had claimed to be one while operating Off Duty Police Services, an online platform connecting North Texas officers with off-duty work. Authorities have not released his real name.
King has also been seen, in images obtained by the outlet, “standing close to Crockett at event and on the campaign trail” as she recently ran for the U.S. Senate in Texas against James Talarico, the now-Democrat nominee in the Texas U.S. Senate race.
Law enforcement officials from the “fugitive task force” had been “conducting surveillance” on King and followed him into the parking garage at the Children’s Medical Center, Daniel Comeaux, the Chief of Police for the Dallas Police Department, explained, WFAA News reported.
Several police officers told the outlet that King’s company “was posting jobs” through an online platform that police officers use “to sign up for off-duty security work”:
Sources also said the man claimed to have high-profiled clients, including banks, hotels and political figures.
Dallas police officers have told WFAA the company was posting jobs through RollKall, a platform commonly used by police officers to sign up for off-duty security work. According to sources, some Dallas officers unknowingly worked security assignments believing the company was legitimate.
“Our officers are definitely very concerned because they want to make sure that when they provide their information, that it is protected,” Sean Pease, who serves as the President of the Dallas Police Association, told the outlet.