Man, 18, fatally shot by Lake Worth police officer in Fort Worth after car, foot chase
A Lake Worth police officer fatally shot an armed 18-year-old man after officers pursued a car into Fort Worth around 2 a.m. Friday, police said.
Lake Worth police officers started to chase the driver of the vehicle, who was going 88 mph in a 65 mph zone on Interstate 820, for a traffic stop when the suspects turned off their lights, Lake Worth Police Chief J.T. Manoushagian said at a news conference Friday. Police pursued the vehicle into Fort Worth, which ended in a foot chase on Horne Street, near Interstate 30 and Camp Bowie Boulevard in Fort Worth, he said.
The car hit a curb on Horne Street, disabling a tire, and three male suspects got out and ran in separate directions, the chief said. One passenger had a gun and pointed it at one of the officers, he said.
One of the officers said, “Gun, gun, gun, he’s got a gun,” before shooting the man, the chief said.
Manoushagian said he didn’t know how many shots were fired. No officers were injured in the incident.
Officers performed CPR, Manoushagian said, and the man was pronounced dead at John Peter Smith Hospital. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office identified him as Estevan Ramirez, 18, of Fort Worth.
Police said they were still searching Friday for the two other people who ran from the car. No other firearms were found in the car or seen in video evidence, so the suspects are not considered a risk to the public, Manoushagian said.
During the chase, the officers were told that the vehicle had been involved in similar incidents with White Settlement police and that the occupants should be considered armed and dangerous, Manoushagian said.
The Fort Worth Police Department is taking the lead in investigating the shooting with the help of the Grand Prairie Police Department.
Fort Worth police asked for the public’s help with any information that could lead to the identification of possible witnesses. Anyone who has video or knowledge related to the incident, which occurred in the 3400 block of Horne Street at the intersection with Houghton Street, is asked to call Detective C.G. West at 817-392-4430.
Police have not released body camera or dashboard camera video of the shooting or chase, but the Lake Worth chief said he reviewed the video.
“The gentleman who was sitting in the left rear seat got out and you can clearly see the gun,” Manoushagian said. “There’s multiple videos of this incident from all different angles, so we’re very confident that, once it’s all reviewed and we can present it in court, it will show a complete picture of what happened.”
The two officers involved in the chase have been placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure, Lake Worth police said.
This is the second shooting involving police in Tarrant County this week.
On Wednesday, a Hurst officer shot a man who police said threatened him with a knife outside of a house.
The Hurst officer had been dispatched about 5:15 p.m. to the 900 block of Henson Drive because the man was armed with a knife and was threatening his relatives, Hurst police said.
The man was taken to JPS Hospital in Fort Worth. His condition was stable, police said Wednesday.
This story was originally published September 3, 2021 at 8:47 AM.
