WATCH: Fort Worth police release bodycam of officer shooting at armed restaurant owner
Fort Worth police have released body-camera footage from a March 12 burglary call during which an officer shot at a business owner.
Officers had been dispatched to the restaurant in the 1100 block of Terminal Road about 4 a.m. to investigate a burglar alarm and an open door, police said.
The owner of the restaurant, who was armed with a handgun, also showed up to the business without notifying police that he would be there, police officials said at a news conference on Tuesday, March 18.
While officers searched the outside of the building for signs of an intruder, they encountered the armed business owner, who was pointing his gun toward the officers, according to the bodycam video.
The officers, unaware that the man was the owner of the business, ordered him to show his hands and he did not immediately comply, police said.
Fearing for his safety, an officer fired a shot in the direction of the business owner, but the gunshot did not hit the man, police said.
The man immediately dropped the weapon and was taken into custody, police said. He was later released once officers confirmed that he was the owner of the restaurant.
In the video, after the shot is fired and the man drops his gun, he can be heard saying that he is the owner. Officers order him to put his hands up, drop the phone he was also carrying, walk backward toward them and then get on his knees.
During the investigation, detectives learned the restaurant and storage area in the back of the property were broken into by an unknown person, police said. No arrests have been made in the case.
Two officers involved in the incident were expected to return from administrative leave on Tuesday, March 18, Executive Assistant Chief Robert Alldredge said.
Officials advise business owners to communicate with police who are responding to a burglary or other call in order to prevent similar situations, Alldredge said.
