Fort Worth officer shoots, wounds armed man during domestic disturbance call, police say
A Fort Worth police officer shot and wounded a man while responding to a domestic disturbance call on the city’s south side Saturday afternoon.
Police Chief Neil Noakes said the man was taken to a hospital and was stabilized.
A woman, who called 911 to report the domestic disturbance at a house in the 4900 block of Odessa Avenue about 12:20 p.m., told a dispatcher that her brother was threatening her with a handgun, Noakes said. When officers arrived, the man ran out the back of the house and police chased him for a short distance, the chief said at a news conference Saturday afternoon.
In the 4900 block of Rutland Avenue, Noakes said, officers tried to use a Taser to subdue the man but it was ineffective. He did not say why it was ineffective.
According to Noakes, the man then “presented officers with a deadly threat” and one officer, a 15-year veteran, fired at the man, shooting him at least once. Officers then provided emergency first aid until an ambulance arrived and the man was taken to an area hospital.
Investigators at the scene did find a handgun near where the man was shot, Noakes said.
The police chief would not say what form of deadly threat the man, who has not been identified, presented to officers, saying he did not “want to have to walk back a statement” at a later time.
Major Case and Internal Affairs detectives and the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office responded to the scene and will conduct an internal investigation, Noakes said.
“It’s a sad situation anytime an officer is forced to use their weapon,” Noakes said. “It’s a sad situation anytime anyone is shot. But unfortunately these are the realities that officers faces on a daily basis.”
Family members at the home where the domestic disturbance was reported did not want to comment Saturday afternoon.
This story was originally published January 21, 2023 at 1:56 PM.