Dallas police officer faces federal, state gun charges

Marc Ramirez

USA TODAY

A Dallas police sergeant has been indicted on federal gun charges and accused of pawning stolen service weapons, potentially adding to a concerning number of police weapons on the streets, an issue that has come under increasing scrutiny nationwide.

A report issued earlier this month by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said more than 25,000 weapons used in crimes between 2019 and 2023 had previously been in police possession. More than 14% of former law enforcement weapons recovered in that time were associated with homicide or other violent crimes, the ATF said while urging police departments engaging in used-weapon sales to reconsider such practices in light of the data.

Thomas Michael Fry, 52, was indicted on three counts of possession and sale of a stolen firearm, according to Chad Meacham, acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas. He has also been charged by the state with theft of the firearms.

'Police officers have a sacred duty to uphold the rule of law,' Meacham said. 'Instead, this sergeant betrayed his department – and his community – by allegedly pawning stolen firearms. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will not hesitate to pursue charges against law enforcement officers who fail to live up to their oaths.'

Fry has pleaded not guilty.

According to the indictment, Fry allegedly pawned several 9mm Sig Sauer pistols at an Oklahoma pawn shop in the summer of 2022. The weapons had been improperly removed from administrative lockers in the Dallas Police Department’s southeast patrol division.

According to Dallas’ WFAA-TV, Fry worked in detention services and was assigned to the southeast division at the time of the theft. If convicted, he could face up to 30 years in federal prison. He’s also been charged by the state with three counts of theft of a firearm.

Fry’s attorney, Mitch Monthie, could not be reached for comment, and a Dallas police spokesman said the department had nothing to say.

'It is not our practice to comment on pending litigation,' senior corporal Brian Martinez said.

Selling used firearms not uncommon

Cases like Fry’s are part of a broader issue. Last year, CBS reported at least four dozen cases of law enforcement officers illegally selling their weapons over the previous two decades.

In one instance, Bradley Wendt, the former police chief in Adair, Iowa, was found guilty of using his position as head of the three-man police department to obtain weapons and sell them for personal profit.

'If I’m guilty of this, every cop in the nation’s going to jail,' Wendt told the network days before being sentenced last summer.

Generally, police weapons on the market have been an issue as departments around the country have increasingly sold used firearms. The ATF report noted that a 1998 policy resolution by the International Association of Chiefs of Police recommended the mandatory destruction of law enforcement weapons that were no longer needed.