Former Arlington police officer indicted on murder charge in October 2021 shooting
A former Arlington police officer has been indicted on a charge of murder in the October 2021 death of a man suspected of DWI, according to a news release from the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office.
Robert Phillips, 37, of Fort Worth, who was working at the time as a police officer in Arlington, shot and killed Jesse Fischer, 40, of Addison, after a brief police chase.
At around 2:28 p.m. Oct. 20, two officers responded to a call of an SUV stopped in the middle of the roadway along Pioneer Parkway near Daniel Drive, Arlington Police Sgt. Chris Moore said. One of the officers instructed the driver, who was the only person in the vehicle, to stay where he was but he continued to drive.
Moore said Fischer stopped briefly near the intersection of Daniel Drive and Arkansas Lane, where police informed him he was under arrest for evading and advised him to turn off the vehicle. The driver did not comply and drove away, according to police.
The officers went into a low-speed chase with Fischer until he entered Carla Court, a cul de sac near South Collins Street, police said. Police said they stopped at the entrance of the cul de sac when the driver made a U-turn and drove toward Phillips, who had gotten out of his vehicle.
Moore said only one officer — Phillips — fired multiple times, but both officers were placed on administrative leave during the investigation of the incident. Neither of the officers were injured.
Police performed life-saving measures on Fischer until paramedics arrived to transport him to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead from his injuries, Moore said.
Phillips was fired from the department on Oct. 22, 2021, after an internal review of the shooting.
Area police unions, incensed after Police Chief Al Jones fired the officer two days following the shooting, held a vote of no confidence in the chief.
“The facts as we know them today are not going to change,” Jones said in an Oct. 22 press conference. “They’re not going to change today, they’re not going to change tomorrow, they’re not going to change six months from now.”
Jones said there were many steps Phillips could have taken instead of firing his gun, such as getting behind or back into the police car. Because the officers knew they were going into a dead-end street, Jones said, the officers could have blocked the street until Fischer surrendered.
The indictment, handed down by a Tarrant County grand jury on Thursday, is not a conviction but another way to file criminal charges. If convicted, Phillips would face five years to life in prison.
It was unclear Thursday whether he had an attorney.
This report contains information from Fort Worth Star-Telegram archives.
This story was originally published June 16, 2022 at 7:53 PM.