CORRECTION: El Centro College Police Officer Injured in Shooting

One of two campus police officers in Dallas was shot as they tried to arrest a man for violating probation.

CORRECTION: El Centro College Police Officer Injured in Shooting

CORRECTION NOVEMBER 12, 2020: A total of three officers responded to the incident: two Dallas College police officers assigned to the El Centro College campus, as well as a third officer, who was in field training. The trainee was injured during the exchange of gunfire, not Garcia nor Mason.

CS thanks the reader who provided the correct information.


Dallas, Texas – An investigation of a suspicious vehicle last week turned deadly when a man and two El Centro College police officers exchanged gunfire. The suspect died at a local hospital from his injuries, while one of the responding officers was injured, also requiring hospitalization. The officer was released from the hospital the following day.

The deceased suspect has been identified as Reginald Alexander Jr., 25, reports NBCDFW. The two officers involved have been identified as Rodrigo Garcia and Danny Mason, although it’s unclear which of the officers was injured, reports WFAA.

The altercation happened on November 6 when Garcia and Mason investigated a suspicious vehicle near the downtown campus. They found Alexander, who owned the car, and attempted to arrest him for having an outstanding warrant for a probation violation, reports WFAA.

The El Centro College officers say Alexander then pulled out a handgun, and the officers and the suspect then exchanged gunfire.

The shooting was captured on the officers’ body cameras as well as a fixed security camera in the area. The video hasn’t been released to the public.

Per department policy, both El Centro College police officers are on leave. One of the officers had only been on the job for two weeks, while the other is a training officer, reports WFAA.

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About the Author

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Robin has been covering the security and campus law enforcement industries since 1998 and is a specialist in school, university and hospital security, public safety and emergency management, as well as emerging technologies and systems integration. She joined CS in 2005 and has authored award-winning editorial on campus law enforcement and security funding, officer recruitment and retention, access control, IP video, network integration, event management, crime trends, the Clery Act, Title IX compliance, sexual assault, dating abuse, emergency communications, incident management software and more. Robin has been featured on national and local media outlets and was formerly associate editor for the trade publication Security Sales & Integration. She obtained her undergraduate degree in history from California State University, Long Beach.

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