Brent Thompson, 43, a Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) officer, was one of five police officers gunned down July 7 in the sniper attack in downtown Dallas, TX.
Thompson joined DART in 2009 as a transit patrol officer, working in Dallas’ northwest transit sector. At the time of his death, he was a newlywed of two weeks and leaves behind his wife, a fellow DART officer. He was training to join the Dallas Area Rapid Transit motorcycle corps.
According to the agency, Thompson is the first transit officer for the City of Dallas ever killed in the line of duty.
DART noted that three other officers with the agency, who were also shot during the protest in Dallas over the earlier police shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota, are expected to recover. Wounded in the attack and now recovering in the hospital were Omar Cannon, 44; Misty McBride, 32; and Jesus Retana, 39.
Thompson had trained police officers in Iraq and Afghanistan as an international police liaison officer for DynCorp International, an American private military contractor.
In his LinkedIn profile, he wrote of his enjoyment of the collaborative aspect of working in policing:
“I enjoy working on challenging tasks and problem solving with my peers, and constantly looking for different ways to serve the department, this helps to keep my work from becoming sedentary and boring.”
DART expressed its grief over Thompson’s untimely death in a statement that reads in part:
“Our hearts are broken. 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, and we are grateful for every message.”
DART employees have established a Go Fund Me Account in honor of Officer Brent Thompson to help his family through this tragic event and their loss. Visit https://www.gofundme.com/2debdfk4