Frightened 911 caller who reported prowler says officers were ‘just doing their jobs’

A young woman who said she made the 911 prowler call about a man who later died in police custody said she was frightened by the loud banging on her front door.

Faviol Cendejas, 21, of Fort Worth, said her father and little brother, now 10, had just returned home from a soccer game July 26, when the banging started, first on her front door and later on the white truck parked in their yard.

Cendejas said she called 911 about 9:30 p.m. because she and her little brother were afraid. Officers came to the residence and placed the suspected prowler in handcuffs, according to a statement from police.

“We thanked God that he didn’t come before when they (her father and brother) were outside,” Cendejas said. “This is a difficult thing for my little brother to have to go through.”

The man, who was later identified as Christopher Lowe, 55, of Fort Worth, died from acute cocaine intoxication about 10:45 p.m.

Five Fort Worth police officers were fired Tuesday for their roles in Lowe’s death. The terminated officers are Christopher Golden, Taylor Stephens, Daniel Pritzker, Hans Fellhauer and Mitchell Miller, police said.

A sixth officer, Scott Smith, was suspended without pay for 90 days and a seventh, Andrew Scharf, was suspended for five days. All were patrol officers, according to police.

“You could tell he was on drugs,” Cendejas said. “We had a neighbor call who also said it looked like he was on drugs.”

The police responded to her call quickly and she was happy that they did, said Cendejas. Her entire family, including her infant child, was inside the house, Cendejas said.

“We are sad that the man died but he brought it on himself by taking drugs,” Cendejas said. “We all know what that can do to you. It was his decision to take drugs. He could have done more damage if police had not come as quickly as they did.”

After Lowe was handcuffed he complained of medical issues but was placed in the back of a patrol car until officers completed their investigation, according to police. Lowe was found unresponsive in the patrol car when officers returned.

An ambulance came about three minutes later and it looked like they were trying to revive him, Cendejas said.

“I don’t think the police officers should have been fired for just trying to do their jobs,” Cendejas said. “They came to protect us.”

The actions of the officers who were disciplined failed to meet police department and resident expectations, according to the police statement. A preliminary update on the investigation was provided to the Tarrant County district attorney’s office with a grand jury review pending, the police statement said.

The firings have reverberated through the police community, as well as the community at large.

According to a statement from the Fort Worth Police Officers Association, police officers do not get to choose the calls they are dispatched to and it is impossible to train and prepare for every scenario.

Lowe’s death has exposed very specific training needs for the department, the statement said.

This command decision was surprising and unprecedented in the department, said Manny Ramirez, Fort Worth Police Officers Association president.

“Every police officer’s involvement on the scene is usually different,” Ramirez said. “Everyone has a different responsibility. It’s alarming that the actions or perspectives of officers would be grouped like this.“

This story was originally published January 16, 2019 at 7:19 PM with the headline "Frightened 911 caller who reported prowler says officers were ‘just doing their jobs’."