WATCH: Police release video of shooting, response after deputy shot at Fort Worth bank
The Tarrant County sheriff’s deputy who on Nov. 27 was shot twice while working off-duty security at a credit union in Fort Worth returned fire after he was shot, letting off a dozen rounds, authorities said at a news conference Monday at which they released video clips of the shooting and response.
Leland Williams, 35, is accused of shooting and wounding deputy Brent Brown, also 35, at Fort Worth Community Credit Union on Brentwood Stair Road, according to authorities. He faces a charge of attempted capital murder of a peace officer and is being held on $1 million bond.
The bond was raised to $1 million after police association leaders and elected officials expressed outrage at an initial bond set at $100,000.
Police released a collection of security, drone and body-camera footage at the news conference Monday that showed the shooting, the first officers responding and Williams being arrested in a nearby neighborhood, walking out of a house and backing up toward police with his hands in the air and a cigarette in his mouth.
Video showed the man police identified as Williams walk into the bank, sit down briefly and then stand up, pull a gun and rush Brown.
Brown, who was sitting behind the counter at the credit union, tried to pull his own handgun but was shot before he had the chance, the video shows. Brown fell, then stood and opened fire at the attacker as he fled the building. Video included a camera that showed Williams’ face as he approached with the gun raised and shows the recoil as the handgun is fired.
Police said Williams fired four rounds, two of which struck Brown. One hit him in the gut, just below his ballistics vest, and the other hit him in the chest, just above the vest.
Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn said Brown is recovering more and more each day. While it will likely be weeks, if not months, before Brown is fit to return to duty, Waybourn said Brown told him he wants to get back to work immediately.
“Deputy Brown would make every cop in America proud,” Waybourn said. “Evil came at him and he went down, but he didn’t stay there. He got up and went at evil until the fight was over and he was seriously wounded when he did that. So incredible courage, incredible stuff that makes you get up and go to the fight.”
Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes said at the news conference that Williams walked into the credit union and said he wanted to open an account, providing a fake name. He walked up to the counter then sat down before walking back up to the counter with the handgun drawn and opening fire, authorities said.
Noakes said Williams has invoked his right to remain silent, so investigators have not been able to determine a motive. While noting that he does not like to speculate, Noakes said his best guess is that Williams was trying to rob the bank and fired at Brown first because he was in his sheriff’s deputy uniform.
Noakes said Williams has not yet had a thorough psychological evaluation.
The body-camera footage released by police shows officers approaching the bank and entering through the glass doors, which had been shattered in the shooting. They called out, asking if the shooter was still in the building before asking if anybody had been shot.
“Yes,” multiple people shouted at them.
After one person said the deputy had been shot, the officer whose bodycam footage was released jumps over the counter. Noakes said officers performed life-saving measures and said that if it weren’t for them, Brown’s wounds would have been mortal.
A Star-Telegram reporter saw the ambulance in which Brown was transported escorted by more than a dozen police and sheriff’s office vehicles.
Noakes said police were able to identify Williams about a half hour after they arrived. It was “extremely fast,” he said.
“This is one of those instances where our relationship with the community proved to be beneficial,” Noakes said. “We had members of the community to help direct us to where Mr. Williams had gone.”
Williams was found in the 1800 block of Lynnwood Hills Drive, at what authorities said they believe was a relative’s house.
SWAT was called to the scene and engaged in a standoff with Williams, who eventually surrendered. Drone video released by police showed officers surrounding the house before Williams came out. He can be seen backing up with his hands in the air and then kneeling, a cigarette in his mouth, before police rushed in and arrested him.
Brown’s recovery is promising, Waybourn said. He is insisting on physical therapy and eager to have the tubes removed. He still has a tube to drain his lungs, but is on the path to have that removed soon. His family has been around him ever since he first arrived at the hospital.
Waybourn said Brown’s mother told him she believes it was the quick response by police and paramedics that saved his life.
“His attitude is incredible,” Waybourn said of Brown. “Every time I talk to him, he says, ‘I am ready to come back.’ We told him it might be a day or two, but we’re gonna get him back and he’s going to be good.”
This story was originally published December 4, 2023 at 5:09 PM.