Fort Worth officer suspended amid manslaughter case

A police officer indicted on a manslaughter charge in a crash that occurred while he sped to help another officer — and that fatally injured a 77-year-old retired minister — has been suspended for 30 days, according to a disciplinary letter.

Officer Christopher Bolling was traveling 86 mph without his lights and sirens activated when he crashed into a Toyota Camry driven by 77-year-old Billie “Joe” Addington on Aug. 20, 2012, an investigation found.

Addington, a retired Baptist minister, died Nov. 1, 2012.

The Tarrant County medical examiner’s office ruled his death an accident caused by complications of multiple traumatic injuries. Bolling was indicted June 20. No trial date has been set.

Police Chief Jeff Halstead offered the 30-day suspension without pay in lieu of termination on the condition that Bolling not appeal the discipline. The suspension took effect Friday, according to the disciplinary letter filed Monday with the Civil Service Commission.

“This was a tragic incident for everyone and our thoughts and prayers are with the Addington family,” Halstead said in a statement emailed to the Star-Telegram on Tuesday.

Halstead said the 30-day suspension is “the most discipline served in my administration for a driving policy violation of this nature.”

“Once he completes his suspension, he will continue serving in a restricted status (no gun/badge) until the completion of his criminal trial,” Halstead wrote.

Randy Addington, Billie Addington’s son, issued a statement Tuesday: “Our family was not involved with the charges being sought against the officer nor the disciplinary action. We hold no animosity toward Officer Bolling and our hope is that all of the families affected can learn from this tragic event. We appreciate the love, support, and prayers from everyone as we continue to mourn the loss of our loved one.”

Craig Driskell, an attorney with the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas who represented Bolling in the administrative investigation, called the chief’s decision not to fire Bolling “the right decision” and said the officer is “extremely relieved that his job is intact.”

“There’s extenuating circumstances that will be brought out at trial,” Driskell said.

The wreck

Bolling’s defense attorney, Jim Lane, previously told the Star-Telegram that Bolling was rushing to try to intercept a drunken-driving suspect who had reportedly almost hit another car head-on and was being followed by an off-duty Hurst officer.

According to the disciplinary letter, Bolling was responding to the call shortly after 11 p.m. and was traveling in the 5600 block of Azle Avenue when Addington made a left turn into the path of his patrol car.

The call had been dispatched as a “Priority 2” — one that does not have an immediate threat but could escalate.

The letter says Bolling was traveling at night through a residential area with hills that reduced his visibility. He did not have his emergency lights or sirens on, and equipment in his car would later show that he was traveling 86 mph seconds before the collision. The speed limit was 45 mph.

“Officer Bolling applied his brakes, however he was unable to avoid striking the Camry,” the letter says.

Police officials have said the driver suspected of DWI was stopped by other officers but was not arrested.

A preliminary report indicated that Addington had failed to yield, but it was amended after a detective determined that Bolling was traveling at a high speed, prompting a special investigation, police officials have said.

In the amended report, the traffic investigation detective concluded that the patrol car was traveling at a speed greater than what was “reasonable and prudent for the conditions then existing” and that because of the topography, the drivers “most likely did not see each other.”

In October 2013, the City Council approved paying Addington’s relatives a settlement of $250,000 after they filed a claim with the city.

Investigation questioned

Rick Van Houten, president of the Fort Worth Police Officers Association, said Bolling should not have been indicted because there was no criminal intent.

“The fact of the matter was this was a tragic accident, and the criminal justice system does not typically indict people for accidents, even when they end this tragically,” he said.

Van Houten said five revisions were made to the accident report. Based on an earlier version, an accident review board made up of officers of various ranks found that the wreck was neither chargeable nor preventable, he said.

“It makes you question the investigation,” Van Houten said. “If there were enough errors made early on in this investigation, why does it take five revisions? Why was the accident review board able to come to a conclusion of nonchargeable, nonpreventable based on the earlier investigation? Something doesn’t make sense there.”

Van Houten said the suspension of Bolling was “a fair conclusion to the administrative portion of the case.”

“This is an extremely tragic situation for Mr. Addington, the family and officer Bolling,” Van Houten said. “The fact of the matter is this officer’s only intent that day was to prevent a DWI driver from causing serious injury to somebody else and the result of his actions to get to that scene was tragic.”

This story was originally published December 9, 2014 at 7:11 PM with the headline "Fort Worth officer suspended amid manslaughter case."