The Dallas Morning News

Police: Man had pepper spray gun

Department says officers who shot him thought he was reaching for a weapon

- By ISABELLA VOLMERT Staff Writer isabella.volmert@dallasnews.com Twitter: @isabellavo­lmert

The man shot by Fort Worth police last Saturday, who officers believed he was reaching for a weapon, was carrying a pepper spray gun, the department said.

Fort Worth police released audio and video Friday of the incident, which occurred about 7:15 a.m. March 4 near the intersecti­on of Park Vista Boulevard and Keller Haslet Road, where a 29-year-old man was reportedly behaving “erraticall­y.” He has not been identified by police.

In 911 audio provided by police, a caller reported seeing a man with a stick lying down in a field and asking for police. The same caller later said the man was chasing him and hitting vehicles with a stick. The caller told the dispatcher the man said he was going to “pull the trigger” and repeatedly grabbed at his waistband.

In a video statement, Fort Worth police Chief Neil Noakes said officers attempted to speak with the man but he had one hand on “an object that was protruding from his waistband.” Officers believed the object was a gun, Noakes said.

Dashboard camera footage shows the man standing in the middle of an intersecti­on as officers ask him to put his hands up.

Footage from a body camera shows officers then using Tasers on the man, who had taken off his shirt. The officers tell the man to get on the ground and the man responds “no” several times. Noakes said the Tasers were ineffectiv­e.

The man then walks away from the officers, up Park Vista Boulevard, as a police vehicle follows him. Officers ask the man to stop moving. The man says, “I will pull the trigger,” and puts one hand on an object at his side, then keeps walking.

Noakes said officers realized the man was walking toward a day care but did not know whether children were present.

Dash camera footage shows the man walking up a driveway before turning and approachin­g the police vehicle with one hand on an object at his waist. The officers say, “Here we go,” before three shots are heard. On body camera footage, an officer can also be heard saying, “I’m done,” before the shots are fired.

The officers struck the man in the abdomen, and he was taken to a hospital and was stable, Noakes said.

Noakes did not identify the officers involved in the incident.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or who has video footage is asked to contact police at 817-392-4430.

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