The theft suspect killed by a Grand Prairie police officer Thursday evening after a foot chase from a Target was identified Friday as a 22-year-old Mansfield man.
Jordan Hatcher was shot multiple times in the chest, the Tarrant County medical examiner's office reported.Officers had responded to a call at 3:50 p.m. about a theft at the Target store in the 5700 block of Texas 360, said Sgt. Christopher Cook, an Arlington police spokesman. When they arrived, officers found two suspects, and one was immediately arrested.The other man briefly struggled with police, then broke free and ran to a nearby parking lot, Cook said. When officers caught up, there was another struggle."The suspect was able to gain control of one of the officer's Tasers," Cook said. An officer shot him "in fear of his safety and in fear of the safety of the other officers."Police declined to discuss a witness's account that Hatcher was hit with a Taser before he was shot, and also declined to describe what Hatcher and the other man were accused of stealing from Target."The answers to those questions are still part of the ongoing investigation," said detective Lyle Gensler, a Grand Prairie police spokesman. "There are still many pieces of the puzzle to put together."Tarrant County criminal records show that Arlington police arrested Hatcher in July after he was accused of injuring a 23-year-old Arlington woman. He was charged with assault with bodily injury, and a court hearing was scheduled for March 7, records show.Hatcher was a 2009 graduate of Mansfield High School and served for four years in the U.S. Marine Corps, according to his obituary.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
