Fort Worth police Officer William Martin arrested in off-duty shooting following hit-&-run
A Fort Worth police officer was arrested on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon following his involvement in an off-duty shooting Sept. 3 that hospitalized a driver, the police department announced in a news release Friday.
Police began investigating Officer William Martin after he shot a driver on Interstate 35W stemming from a reported hit-and-run. He was then placed on restricted duty pending the outcome of the investigation.
Upon completion, the police department determined there was probable cause for a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, the release states. Police obtained an arrest warrant for Martin; he has since been booked into the Tarrant County Jail.
Following the arrest, Martin will be placed on detached duty pending the completion and review of an Internal Affairs investigation, police said in the release.
This comes after Fort Worth residents who spoke at a City Council meeting demanded Martin be held accountable. They argued Martin’s actions during the Sept. 3 altercation were part of a pattern of aggressive behavior and said he should be removed from the police department before any more residents get hurt.
Community activist Gerald Banks Sr. recounted Martin’s involvement in the 2016 arrest of Jacqueline Craig — which became a national story — saying the officer could kill someone if he’s not held accountable. Video of the arrest that went viral showed Martin wrestle Craig to the ground after she called police during a dispute with a neighbor and she argued with the officer. In 2022, the city agreed to pay Craig $150,000 to settle a lawsuit.
In the shooting case, Officer Martin called 911 in the late afternoon of Sept. 3, reporting that his vehicle had been hit by a red Ford 150 pickup on I-35W near the Morningside Drive exit, according to an initial news release from police. Martin reported that he pursued the pickup truck and that he fired his gun after the driver rammed his vehicle, according to the release.
The driver of the truck was struck by gunfire multiple times and was hospitalized, according to police.
In a statement Friday, Martin’s attorney, P. Micheal Schneider, wrote that, “Officer Martin is innocent of the charges articulated in today’s arrest warrant. His actions were wholly in line with the duties of a peace officer under Texas law.”
“This case is a prime example of what happens when a police department places political expediency ahead of a thorough and complete investigation of the facts,” Schneider wrote. “Thankfully the case will now be in the hands of the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office who we trust will handle this case appropriately and professionally.”
A police spokesperson did not release a copy of the arrest warrant and said it would be available from the court clerk’s office, which was closed when Martin’s arrest was announced Friday evening.
Martin was placed on restricted duty Sept. 5. Restricted duty calls for confiscating officers’ badges and weapons and having them reassigned to administrative positions where they have no police powers.
While some Fort Worth City Council members opted to reserve judgment on the shooting, council member Chris Nettles said he’d like to have the 911 call audio released to the public.
Mayor Mattie Parker and council member Michael Crain said they had confidence in Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes to swiftly conduct the investigation.
Martin has been with the police department for 19 years and was assigned to the Support Bureau department at the time of the shooting.
The driver who was shot, identified by his attorneys as Samuel Christopher, is cooperating with officers in the investigation, but does not want to further comment, according to a Thursday statement from the law firm. Police have not announced any charges against Christopher, whose attorneys said he was unarmed at the time of the incident.
This story was originally published September 20, 2024 at 6:43 PM.
