Fort Worth Chief of Police Neil Noakes says five Fort Worth officers fired on an armed man who tried to carjack a driver after a police chase last week, hitting him seven times.
Noakes said the department was still very early in their investigation but released an edited video of the 20-minute chase on Tuesday, trimming it to six minutes. The video showed officers following a GMC Sierra truck after the vehicle was flagged as stolen by Flock cameras.
Fort Worth police said last week that in an attempt to elude officers, the driver of the truck rammed into a police car and drove erratically until police disabled the vehicle using spike strips. The chase came to an end near NW 28th Street and McKinley Avenue, where police said the driver then got out of the rolling pickup with a long gun and attempted to carjack another vehicle.
Video released Tuesday showed the chase and carjacking and the moment when the man got out of the second vehicle with a long gun held to his head. That's when five officers fired on the man, striking him at least seven times.
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The driver was arrested, transported for medical attention, and listed in stable condition. Noakes said the driver gave them a name but that they have not yet been able to confirm his age or identity. The man had injuries in both his upper and lower body and is still listed in stable condition.
Noakes said last week it was important to keep innocent civilians in mind throughout this entire series of events.
"This is another example of how unpredictable and dangerous the job of a police officer can be. Never know when you might encounter someone with a weapon, never know what someone might do with that weapon," said Nokes. "…And when you're in a place like this where there are innocent civilians around where there could be anything in that backdrop, they've got to make sure when they're firing they know what's beyond the threat that they're trying to stop, he continued."
