EDITOR'S NOTE: This story originally posted on March 1, 2011.
FORT WORTH -- A Fort Worth police officer, hanging onto a door of the SUV that was dragging him, shot and killed the driver of the vehicle Monday night in southeast Fort Worth.Three children, ages 7, 8 and 11, were in the back seat of the car when the shooting occurred. They were not injured and later were released to family members, police said. An adult passenger in the SUV was also not injured.On Tuesday, the Tarrant County medical examiner's office identified the deceased man as Charal Thomas, 32. His death was ruled a homicide, caused by multiple gunshot wounds.The shooting occurred about 7 p.m. in the 1800 block of Lucas Drive, after the officer, who was not identified, pulled over the black SUV on a routine traffic stop near a gas station on Cravens Road on the west side of Loop 820.The officer did a records check, found that the driver was wanted on warrants and attempted to arrest the suspect.That's when "the driver explained that he was not going to jail," said Sgt. Pedro Criado, Fort Worth police spokesman. The officer tried to pull the suspect out of the vehicle, and the suspect began driving, dragging the officer for two blocks, police said."Fearing for his life," Criado said, the officer pulled his gun and shot the driver. The vehicle came to rest in the front yard of a residence.The driver, subsequently identified as Thomas, was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.The officer was also taken to a local hospital with injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening.Family members were brought to the scene to take custody of the children, a 7-year-old girl, an 8-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl, police said.Tennisha Felder, 27, who lives near where the shooting occurred, said the man who was killed lived in the neighborhood. She said he was often seen "riding around the neighborhood with his kids on Sundays."Marty Sabota, 817-390-7367
