The trial board hearing \u2014 a process where employees can appeal employment decisions such as suspensions, demotions or terminations \u2014 could prove a pivotal turn in Hess\u2019 years-long effort to clear his name. <\/p>\n
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By signing up, you agree to our\u00a0Terms of Service<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n His more than a decade on the force ended with a criminal prosecution and civil litigation after an encounter in Old East Dallas while responding to a report of a suspicious person.<\/p>\n During the trial board hearing, a three-member panel will hear sworn testimony and review evidence before deciding whether to uphold, reverse or modify the employment decision. Such hearings are generally open to the public, but the employee may request that the hearing or deliberations be closed. Once a decision is made, either side can appeal the ruling to a state district court.<\/p>\n On Jan. 18, 2017, Hess fatally shot Genevive Dawes, 21, after she reversed an SUV into his squad car and drove forward into a fence \u2014 actions he\u2019d say put him in fear of another responding officer\u2019s life. Hess fired 12 rounds, hitting Dawes, while another officer fired one shot.<\/p>\n A photo of the late Genevive Dawes pictured with her arms around the Rosa Parks statue in Downtown Dallas. Dawes was killed by Dallas Police officer Christopher Hess. Tom Fox \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n Dawes, a mother to two daughters, had been sleeping in the SUV before police arrived, her family said in court filings. The SUV had been reported stolen, though her family said she had bought the vehicle not knowing it was stolen.<\/p>\n Prosecutors argued no other officers were in harm\u2019s way when Hess shot. A grand jury charged him with aggravated assault by a public servant, a first-degree felony, in June 2017 \u2014 making him the first Dallas police officer to face such a charge after a fatal on-duty shooting in more than 40 years. <\/p>\n Then-interim police Chief David Pughes fired Hess two weeks later. At the time, police said he violated the department\u2019s felony traffic stop policy and use of deadly force policy and placed a person in greater danger than necessary.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/CDLOU5JHFBF4FCU2NGTFBPDOLI.jpg\")
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\nPhotographed August 25, 2022.<\/p>\n