Joyce Conner is still searching for answers about her brother’s death.
“I’ve emailed everybody,” she said, “including the President.”
Randall Waddel, Conner’s older brother, was fatally shot by a Weatherford police officer inside a Western wear store June 23.
Police said Waddel, 49, pulled a knife on paramedics and was “acting strangely” after they found him lying on a nearby parking lot. Waddel suffered from schizophrenia.
A Parker County grand jury declined to indict officer Christopher Brown in October.
But Conner said a surveillance video released to her last week shows that Waddel was trying to “retreat” from David’s Western Store when Brown shot him multiple times.
“The video clearly shows that he was just trying to leave,” Conner said.
Weatherford police Chief Mike Manning said in a statement Thursday, “Once our officer arrived inside the business, he yelled at Mr. Waddel to drop the knife numerous times. As both Mr. Waddel and our officer worked their way back toward the front entrance of the store, Mr. Waddel kept moving rapidly toward our officer, creating a confrontational situation where our officer fired to protect himself.”
The surveillance tape shows Waddel walking into the store at 11:04 a.m. As he enters, two workers run to the back.
From the front of the store, firefighters motion toward Waddel, who walks through the store while holding something.
Brown then enters the store, moving between racks of jeans and shirts with his gun raised.
When Waddel circles back to the front of the store, Brown shoots him as he exits. Waddel was in the store less than a minute.
The emergency personnel who first found Waddel told investigators he smelled of alcohol, and they suspected he was intoxicated, according to a report by the Texas Rangers.
Waddel’s blood alcohol level was found to be 0.262, according to the Weatherford Democrat. By comparison, the legal limit for driving is .08.
Conner acknowledged Waddel “may have been disoriented.” But she said he had stopped taking his medicine the day before and was likely dehydrated. He often walked to his job at CiCis pizza and had to be at work by noon.
Conner was scheduled to meet with a Dallas attorney Wednesday, but the attorney canceled. He told Conner a civil lawsuit against the police department would be too hard to win.
“I truly believe [Waddel] just wanted to get to work that day,” Conner said. “He didn’t deserve to die — not the way he did.”
Ryan Osborne: 817-390-7684, @RyanOsborneFWST
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