Fort Worth police officer who was fired after off-duty shooting pleads guilty
A Fort Worth police officer who was fired in October 2024 after an off-duty shooting has pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to court records.
William Martin, 45, entered an open plea of guilt on May 4, state district court records show. The Tarrant County probation department will prepare a pre-sentence investigation report, and a judge will sentence Martin in August. The judge will select a prison term between two and 20 years.
Martin called 911 the afternoon of Sept. 3, 2024, to report that someone had hit his personal vehicle on Interstate 35W and then fled the scene. Martin, who was off-duty at the time and not in uniform, followed the red pickup truck for several minutes on southbound I-35W.
When the two vehicles finally came to a stop, the pickup rammed Martin’s Honda, according to a signed statement Martin gave the police department shortly after the incident. Martin exited his vehicle, drew his weapon and ordered the pickup’s driver to get out.
According to Martin’s statement, he heard the engine rev and saw the truck move forward. He fired his gun multiple times at the driver, Samuel Christopher, and followed the truck for a few more miles until on-duty Fort Worth police officers arrived.
Christopher survived the shooting, but one of the bullets narrowly missed his spine, according to his attorney. The victim told police he wasn’t aware he’d hit Martin’s vehicle. He saw Martin was following him and tried to get away because he didn’t know he was a police officer.
Doug Hafer, Christopher’s attorney, said at the time that Martin opened fire “as Mr. Christopher was moving away from and never towards Officer Martin.”
Police interviewed 14 witnesses. None of them saw the initial collision that led to the chase and the shooting, according to the affidavit written by investigators. The witnesses said they assumed it was a road rage incident when they saw Martin chasing Christopher down I-35W. They also saw Martin pull in front of Christopher and stop suddenly, causing a collision.
Witnesses didn’t hear Martin identify himself as a police officer, and they told investigators that Martin was never in danger of being struck by Christopher’s vehicle.
Martin was arrested Sept. 20, 2024, on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was fired the following month after an Internal Affairs investigation found that he used an “unjustified” level of force. A Tarrant County grand jury indicted Martin in March 2025.
P. Micheal Scheider, Martin’s attorney, said in a statement at the time of his client’s arrest 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.”
Schneider did not return a request for comment Wednesday regarding Martin’s guilty plea.
In 2016 Martin was involved in the arrest of Jacqueline Craig, which became a national story. Video of the arrest that went viral showed Martin wrestle Craig to the ground after she called police during a dispute with a neighbor.
Martin was suspended for 10 days without pay. In 2022, the city agreed to pay Craig $150,000 to settle a lawsuit.
The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reviewed the evidence in the Jacqueline Craig case in 2022 and determined that “Martin’s conduct in this case was not objectively unreasonable” and he was entitled to qualified immunity, court documents state.
Had the current case gone to trial, the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office intended to bring up evidence from the Craig case against Martin as an “extraneous offense,” according to court documents.
Breaking news reporter Emerson Clarridge contributed to this report.
