Crime Time

Wounded Fort Worth cop kills suspected robber

A robbery suspect was shot and killed by a Fort Worth police officer who was wounded in the exchange of gunfire following a robbery this morning, police said.

The officer, an eight-year veteran, was shot in the leg and was listed in good condition at JPS.

The officer, who was not identified, was responding to a robbery call at Whataburger in the 6400 block of Brentwood Stair Road shortly before 6:30 a.m. Wednesday.

“The officer saw either money falling out or being thrown by the suspect,” said Police Chief Jeff Halstead in a news conference. “The officer who was still in his car chases the suspect who was on foot.”

Read more in this report from Domingo Ramirez Jr.

-- Bill Miller

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/04/24/4799142/fort-worth-police-officer-shot.html#storylink=cpy

Officials give update on shooting from Texas DPS chopper

The trooper who, while aboard a Department of Public Safety helicopter fired at a fleeing truck in Hidalgo County to disable it, has returned to work, the DPS reported Thursday.

Nine Guatemalan immigrants were hidden under a tarp in the pickup's bed. Three were wounded, two fatally.

Texas Rangers are investigating, although civil rights groups have called for an agency not associated with the DPS to do that. The Rangers are part of DPS.

Click here to read the agency's update on the investigation.

Outrage festers over shooting from Texas DPS chopper

A civil rights group is demanding an independent investigation of the fatal shooting of two suspected illegal immigrants by a Texas state trooper from a helicopter.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas made its demand in a letter to Director Steve McCraw of the Texas Department of Public Safety, according to The Associated Press.

Copies of the letter were released Thursday. It says, "If the facts as reported are true, this use of deadly force was illegal and unconstitutional."

A trooper aboard a DPS helicopter fired at a fleeing truck in an effort to disable it on Oct. 25. Nine Guatemalan immigrants were hidden under a tarp in the pickup's bed. Three were wounded, two fatally.

The letter demands an investigation by "an agency that is not under the umbrella of the Texas DPS."

Follow this link to an AP article with some more background.

Name released of shoplifting suspect fatally shot by Keller police officer

The shoplifting suspect who was shot and killed by a Keller police last week at a Kohl's department store has been identified as Mark Anthony Brooks, 42, of Fort Worth.

Police said he was shot during a struggle that ensued after Brooks lunged at an officer. Brooks had been caught shoplifting by in-house security officers, who called police, officers said.

Susan McFarland has more in this report.

Suspected shoplifter fatally shot tangling with Keller cop

A shoplifting suspect was shot four times by a police officer and later died after he lunged at the officer and tried to take his weapon as he was being arrested Thursday afternoon inside a Kohl's department store.

The suspect was transported by helicopter ambulance to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, where he later died.

The officer was treated at a local hospital for the injuries he received while fighting with the suspect, officials said.

Susan McFarland was at the scene and filed this report.

 

Oklahoma man killed after pointing gun at Lewisville police

A Durant, Okla. man was shot and killed by Lewisville police Wednesday night after he pointed a gun at officers, a Lewisville police official said Thursday.

Police were dispatched at about 10:20 p.m. Wednesday to a McDonald's restaurant in the 500 block of E. Round Grove Road in Lewisville on an aggravated assault call.

Three officers found a truck that matched the description of the vehicle in the shopping center near the McDonald's. At some point, a man exited the truck, armed with a handgun, police said.

Read what happened next in this report by Domingo Ramirez Jr.

 

Denton County man shot by deputy had a record

The two men stopped for speeding near Krum Monday afternoon were no strangers to the criminal justice system.

Court records show Roberto Hernandez, 21, (right) started getting in trouble in 2008 for failing to attend school; later he was arrested for marijuana possession, criminal trespass and felony theft of materials (metals like copper).

Arrests for Michael Fry (left) go back to 2001 for disorderly conduct, assault, public intoxication, theft, burglary and criminal trespass. On Monday there was an active warrant for his arrest for a probation violation on a DWI conviction.

A sheriff's deputy said Hernandez put the car in reverse and rammed the patrol vehicle.

The deputy opened fire. Hernandez died later at the hospital.

-- Bill Miller

FBI to probe officer shooting double-amputee

Houston Police Chief Charles McClelland says he has asked the FBI to help investigate the fatal shooting last weekend of a wheelchair-bound double amputee by an officer at a group home.

Police said Brian Claunch cornered an officer and threatened him by waving an object that turned out to be a pen.

Read more here in this report by Juan A. Lozano of The Associated Press.

More details on cop shooting man in wheelchair

A man in a wheelchair wielding what turned out to be a pen was shot and killed Saturday by a Houston police officer, authorities said.

A police spokeswoman said the one-armed, one-legged man had cornered the officer and was making threats, according to The Associated Press.

The fatal shooting took place in a group home after the caretaker had called police and said the man was creating a disturbance. Officials said the schizophrenic man became agitated when a caretakaer didn't give him a soft drink and a cigarette.

Read more in this report from The Houston Chronicle.

Governor to honor Arlington SWAT officer who was wounded June 5

Getting shot in the head was never going to stop Arlington police officer Bryan Graham from returning to duty just as soon as his bosses would let him.

As long, that is, as he still had the blessing of his wife and two young children.

Graham, a member of the Arlington SWAT unit, reflected Thursday morning on his quick recovery -- he was back at work 20 days after the shooting -- and on being chosen for an award that will be presented Friday in Austin by Gov. Rick Perry.

The 12-year veteran of the Arlington Police Department was wounded the evening of June 5 during a tactical operation to help Fort Worth police arrest an armed-robbery suspect. He was the first officer to enter the east Arlington apartment where Alexzander Rye Coan, 23, was holed up.

A shot fired by Coan struck Graham in his right temple. In a stroke of remarkable fortune, the bullet never penetrated his skull but traveled along the side of his head and exited behind his ear.

Graham said that, other than losing consciousness for what fellow officers said was about 10 seconds, he remembered everything that happened.

"I knew where we were," he told members of the DFW news media at police headquarters. "I knew why we were there."

It quickly became apparent to Graham that he wasn't seriously injured. His wife, Lauren, however, suffered through what must have seemed like hours of angst after she was picked up and driven to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, where Graham was taken.

"All she knew was that I had been shot in the face," Graham said. "She had a half an hour or longer of thinking the worst."

Lauren Graham said Thursday that it was a "tough experience" but that she knows how much her husband loves his job.

"He was a police officer long before we got married," she said. "I knew what I was getting myself into."

Another member of the tactical team, officer Charles Crawford, said a day after the incident that Graham "performed at the level of a hero."

Police fatally shot Coan, a suspect in at least four aggravated robberies in Fort Worth. Fort Worth police had located Coan at an apartment complex in the 600 block of East Arkansas Lane and had tried to execute an arrest warrant at about 4:45 p.m. When Coan wouldn't come out, Arlington police were called to assist.

In Austin, Graham will receive the Governor's Star of Texas. The award began in 2003 and honors peace officers, firefighters and emergency medical responders who are seriously injured or killed in the line of duty. Many of Graham's fellow officers will accompany him and his family to Austin on Friday.

-Patrick M. Walker