Fort Worth Police have released body camera video of the events leading up to an officer-involved shooting last week. They had responded to a burglar alarm on North Beach St., south of 121, last Tuesday night just after 9 p.m.
"As we know, there is no such thing as a routine call," says Chief Neil Noakes. "Officers have to be prepared for anything on every call.."
In the video, officers start talking to a suspect. After they ask several questions, the suspect sees a third police car pull up and starts running.
Noakes says officers tried using a Taser to stop the suspect, but he says the Taser was not effective. He says the reason is still being investigated and could not say whether the device had malfunctioned or the officer did not hit the suspect.
Playing the video Monday afternoon, Fort Worth Police highlighted a gun in the suspect's hand as he ran. Noakes says the suspect fired at police ten times; he says three officers fired at the suspect a total of 28 times.
No officers were hurt, and Noakes says officers "were very cognizant" to make sure no bystanders or cars were moving nearby.
"Policing doesn't happen in a vacuum. It happens in our communities. These officers just trying to investigate a potential property crime were immediately faced with a deadly threat," Noakes says.
"When they were chasing the suspect and shots were being exchanged, you even hear the officers saying, 'Watch your backdrop.' When we are having to fire at a deadly threat, we also have to be aware of what's beyond that to make sure we are not taking unnecessary risks, so they want see if there are any other residents, any vehicles in the area. I'm proud of them for having that much of a train of thought during such a deadly and dangerous situation."
Noakes says officers lost sight of the suspect and found him at 121 and Beach. He says the suspect was still carrying the gun and committed suicide.
Noakes says the suspect, Shane Miller, 35, had been previously been convicted of breaking into a car, drug possession and had an active warrant for a parole violation.
He says officers go through scenario-based training. Some of those scenarios involve a foot chase so officers are taxed physically before they fire. Noakes says realistic training can help officers learn to communicate together.
"This is not anything any officer wants to face, but we're making sure they have the resources they need to process this and come out on the other side okay," he says.
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