Suspect who shot Arlington officer had assaulted another officer in 2016, police say

The man who shot an Arlington police officer Tuesday had assaulted another Arlington officer and tried to take her weapon during an incident in 2016, police said.

Vincent Hall, 22, was fatally shot by police during the incident Tuesday at a home in southwest Arlington.

SWAT officers were executing a drug warrant at the home. When the first officer tried to enter the home, Hall “immediately” began shooting at the officer with an AR-15-style rifle, said Lt. Chris Cook, police spokesman.

The officer, an 11-year veteran whom police are not identifying, suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his legs. He remained in stable condition Wednesday and was in good spirits, Cook said.

Detectives had received a tip earlier Tuesday that Hall and others were selling drugs out of the home in the 4300 block of Kelly Hill Drive. After the detectives smelled marijuana coming from the home, they obtained a search warrant and returned with SWAT officers about 5 p.m., Cook said.

The SWAT officers had obtained permission from a judge to conduct a “no-knock” warrant at Hall’s home because of his assault of an officer last year, Cook said.

The SWAT officers split into two teams — one in the back yard of Hall’s home and one in the front — and then heard someone inside the home yell that police had arrived.

When officers tried to enter the home, they saw Hall advancing down a hallway with a rifle raised and he began shooting at the officers, Cook said.

Five officers, including the wounded officer, returned fire at Hall. A second officer was grazed by a bullet, Cook said. His hand was bandaged at the scene.

The scene remained active for several hours until police cleared the house about 10 p.m. Officers found marijuana, cocaine, Xanax and hydrocodone pills inside the home, Cook said.

Several other people were at the home during the incident. Billy Nevels, 22, of Arlington was arrested on misdemeanor warrants, Cook said. Three other people were detained and released at the scene.

2016 incident

The incident happened Jan. 13, 2016, in the 1000 block of Whispering Oaks Court, where police had received a report of a suspicious person. When officers arrived, they tried arrest Hall and another person on drug charges.

Hall then assaulted multiple officers — including Cpl. Elise Bowden, who was injured this year when she was run over by a suspect in an unrelated incident — and tried to take a gun and a Taser stun gun away from Bowden and another officer, Cook said. Hall fled the scene and was later arrested in Kentucky.

He was convicted last year on charges of attempting to take a weapon from an officer and possession of a controlled substance, according to Tarrant County court records. He was sentenced to three years in prison and released on parole in June, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

This story was originally published November 1, 2017 at 2:49 PM with the headline "Suspect who shot Arlington officer had assaulted another officer in 2016, police say."