Fort Worth police critic injured in arrest as she livestreamed video receives jail time
A Fort Worth woman who posts to her YouTube channel video recordings of her encounters with police officers and who in June was directed to move away from an investigation scene and was injured when an officer forcibly arrested her was sentenced on Thursday to 30 days in jail and to pay a $750 fine.
A jury at her trial found Carolyn Rodriguez guilty of interference with public duties and not guilty of making a false report.
The state argued that Rodriguez is an instigator who, as she strolled live-streaming in the West 7th bar district early on a summer Sunday, held disdain for order and rules.
“She wants to be a YouTube star,” Assistant District Attorney Lloyd Whelchel told the jury in Tarrant County Criminal Court No. 9.
On June 23, police officers in a parking lot initially ignored Rodriguez, who was uninvolved in the pickup truck crash that they were investigating. She goaded a response from the officers for video content to fuel subscribers, Whelchel argued. Rodriguez needs advertising revenue, “because she can’t make money doing something else,” the prosecutor said.
The context of the encounter is critical to evaluating whether it was criminal, the defendant’s defense attorneys argued. Rodriguez believed she was observing indiscriminate towing of vehicles and was not aware of the crash investigation.
“Did she interfere with him, or did he interfere with her?” defense attorney Mark Streiff asked in his guilt-innocence closing argument of the confrontation between Rodriguez and Officer Matthew Krueger.
The defense requested of the jury a punishment determination of no more than three days in jail and no fine. The state asked for the maximum of 180 days and a $2,000 fine.
Assistant District Attorney Jacquelyn Clark prosecuted the case with Whelchel. Defense attorney James Chiles also represented Rodriguez.
Rodriguez, who is 60, was narrating live video during which she criticized vehicle towing underway in the parking lot. Rodriguez mused about the validity of the towing as she walked along the perimeter of the lot.
In the first part of her video recording, Rodriguez is on a sidewalk on Foch Street in the West 7th district. She walks into the lot and approaches two Fort Worth police officers who were moving away from her.
A third officer, Krueger, leaves his vehicle and instructs her to move to the other side of the street. Rodriguez asks for an explanation. After Officer Krueger repeats the instruction, he tells Rodriguez that she is under arrest and that she should turn around. The image from the camera she was holding goes dark. Audio continues in the recording, and the officer is twice heard directing her to stop resisting. Another officer says that Rodriguez is bleeding, and agonal breathing is heard before the video ends.
The officer used force to take Rodriguez into custody, according to the police department. Fort Worth police released portions of surveillance and body-worn camera video of the arrest, which shows Krueger slam Rodriguez to the ground while handcuffing her.
Rodriguez suffered injuries including a dislocated elbow, fractured orbital bone and lacerations of the lip. She was taken to a hospital for evaluation and treatment.
Although she did not know it, Rodriguez was observing the aftermath of a hit-and-run collision in the 1000 block of Foch Street. A suspected intoxicated driver had crashed into another vehicle and a structure before walking or running from the scene, police said.
While officers were conducting an investigation, Rodriguez approached about 3:30 a.m.
Video shows the direct encounter begins when Rodriguez walks into the parking lot and addresses two officers, Tiffany Michel and Kyla Botts, walking away from her.
Rodriguez seems to recognize and address by name a third officer, Krueger, who insists she walk to the other side of the street.
“No. I’m not going to. What for?” Rodriguez asks.
“You can go to the other side of the street or you’re going to get arrested. I’m not warning you again,” Krueger says.
“Why? Tell me why first,” Rodriguez says.
The state called to testify Detective Domingo Martinez, who investigated the use-of-force when he was assigned to the Fort Worth Police Department’s Major Case Unit. Martinez testified that he interviewed Rodriguez at a hospital in late morning on the day she was arrested and interviewed Krueger on Aug. 6.
Martinez testified on cross-examination that he believed forcing Rodriguez to the ground “was an appropriate action.”
The department’s investigation of the use-of-force was open on Thursday, and there is not yet a final disposition, Sgt. Leah Wagner, a department spokesperson, wrote in response to a reporter’s inquiry.
Neither Krueger nor Rodriguez testified at the trial. Officer Michel was the only witness in the trial’s guilt-innocence phase.
The state before trial waived the count of resisting arrest with which it had charged Rodriguez. Judge Brian Bolton ruled that her direct contact with officers during the arrest was not relevant in guilt-innocence, and the jury did not learn of the forceful elements until the punishment phase.
In the description of her YouTube channel, Rodriguez wrote that her goals are “to bring awareness concerning our out of control Criminal Justice system” and “to educate the public as to what rights they have and how to use them.”
In August 2019, in a case related to another video she made, Rodriguez pleaded guilty to breach of computer security and was sentenced to one day in jail and a $2,000 fine. Rodriguez walked into an unlocked Tarrant County maintenance facility while all of the people who worked in the building were at lunch. Rodriguez went to her YouTube channel from a computer at a desk.
In June 2023, the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office cited its prosecutorial discretion when it filed a motion to dismiss another interference with public duties case in which Rodriguez was the defendant.
This story was originally published December 12, 2024 at 3:21 PM.
