Hurst police release name of officer involved in fatal shooting

The Hurst Police Department has released the name of the officer involved in the fatal shooting of a suspect earlier this week in the back yard of a residence.

Nick Pepen, a 6-year veteran of the department, remained on paid leave Wednesday, two days after a foot pursuit resulted in the shooting death of 51-year-old James Dunaway, Hurst Assistant Police Chief Steve Niekamp said.

The investigation into Dunaway’s death is ongoing, and the Texas Rangers are assisting Hurst detectives.

Pepen was originally dispatched to The Arts at Park Place in the 1300 block of Park Place Boulevard, on a domestic disturbance call. He found that Dunaway, the subject of the complaint, had left, Niekamp said.

Police began searching the neighborhood, and someone spotted the man in the 1300 block of Redbud Drive a few blocks away, Niekamp said.

A teenage witness told her grandfather, Jimmy Schlosser, that Dunaway “held something black in his hand” as he climbed a fence into Schlosser’s back yard. The girl watched the scene unfold from the patio about 25 feet away.

Niekamp said that according to Pepen, Dunaway had a handgun and Pepen fired. Niekamp said Tuesday that he did not know whether the man pointed his gun at Pepen.

After Pepen shot Dunaway, he started first aid, and when Dunaway stopped breathing, the officer started CPR, which he performed until paramedics arrived, Niekamp said.

Dunaway was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, where he was pronounced dead at 7:07 p.m. Monday.

This story was originally published October 7, 2015 at 2:04 PM with the headline "Hurst police release name of officer involved in fatal shooting."