Investigations

On October 15, 2019, Matthew Alan Rushing, a police officer in Dallas, Texas, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court, Dallas, to making a false statement. From February through May 2019, Rushing worked overtime hours and received compensation funded by a grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The purpose of the grant was to reduce fatal accidents and serious injuries by increasing enforcement of traffic laws relating to speeding and alcohol- and drug-impaired drivers, as well as unrestrained or improperly restrained vehicle occupants.

 

According to the investigation, Rushing was paid for approximately 160 hours of overtime, during which he wrote approximately 29 false and fraudulent traffic citations. He created and submitted citations for people who did not exist and for events that did not happen. He also issued citations to drivers after they left traffic stops; those drivers were often unaware that fraudulent citations were written in their names.

 

In addition, Rushing created false moving violation citations for unattended, parked, and inoperable vehicles. He filled out the citations by unlawfully accessing law enforcement databases to obtain driver information, using incorrect dates of birth, and forging signatures. To collect the NHTSA-funded overtime pay, he submitted a false report to the Dallas Police Department.

 

DOT-OIG is conducting this investigation with the FBI.