Bodycam video: Investigation continues after Fort Worth officer shoots suspected car thief
A suspected car thief who police say was believed to have a gun under the driver’s seat in a stolen vehicle was shot once by a Fort Worth police officer with a rifle last week, the police chief said in a video released Wednesday.
Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes said the department is still investigating what led up to the officer shooting the man, who remained hospitalized in stable condition Wednesday.
In an emailed statement, Corp. J.D. Johnson, a department spokesman, said police found a gun inside the vehicle, but “the investigation is still ongoing in regards to any involvement of the weapon that was located.”
After leading police on a chase, the suspect kept one hand down, reached between the seats of the SUV and didn’t respond to commands by officers to put both hands up and out the window, Noakes said.
Along with his video statement, Noakes on Wednesday released portions of police body-camera and helicopter-camera videos of the shooting, which occurred on the night of Dec. 13 at Northwest 28th Street and Chestnut Avenue.
The police chief identified the suspect as Frank Pierce, 33, of Fort Worth, who remains in a local hospital. Pierce faces charges of auto theft and evading arrest in the case.
Noakes said detectives were still collecting evidence and conducting interviews in the case.
The officer who shot Pierce has not been publicly identified and has been placed on administrative reassignment while Major Case detectives and investigators with Internal Affairs continue the investigation.
The police chief said in the video statement that all the evidence would be turned over to to the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office for consideration, which is standard procedure for the department.
Northwest Division officers responded shortly after 11 p.m. on Dec. 13 to a vehicle burglary call at an automotive repair shop, C&A Auto Repair, in the 2700 block of White Settlement Road.
A 911 caller reported that, “There’s somebody that’s breaking into all the cars at my friend’s shop.”
Officers were told that a man had driven away from the business in a black Range Rover that had been left there for repairs. The officers radioed a description of the stolen vehicle and the suspect.
Police also were told there was a gun under the driver’s seat and included that information in their radio communications.
Nearby officers saw a vehicle that matched the description of the broadcast and tried to conduct a traffic stop, police said. They said a pursuit ensued when the driver failed to yield to the police units.
During the chase, police said, they successfully deployed spike strips, flattening tires on the SUV. The driver tried to make a U-turn from eastbound to westbound at NW 28th Street and Chestnut Avenue.
Just before 11:30 p.m. that night, the driver lost control of the vehicle and drove into a low retaining wall on the northwest corner of the intersection, police said. The driver then tried to back away from the retaining wall, they said..
An officer in a marked police unit pulled in behind the SUV to block the driver from leaving, and police began “giving loud commands ordering the suspect out of the vehicle,” according to a Fort Worth police news release. “There was no response to these commands. Officers began to break out the back window to get a better view into the stolen vehicle.”
In the video released Wednesday, Fort Worth police officers can be heard yelling out, “Hands out of the window,” “Hands up,” and “Put your hands out.”
A police sergeant is seen in the video using a baton to break a rear window. Officers in the helicopter say they can see Pierce trying to break the front windshield.
One Fort Worth police officer shouts, ”He’s reaching down,” according to the video.
An officer who was covering the driver’s side door fired one round with a rifle, shooting Pierce, police said. A clip from that officer’s body-camera video was released Wednesday but the camera appears to be pointing down toward the ground at the moment of the shot.
Officers removed Pierce from the Range Rover and began providing medical aid before he was taken to the hospital, police said.
No one else was injured in the incident.
This story was originally published December 21, 2022 at 1:08 PM.
