Fort Worth man identified as innocent driver killed in police pursuit
FORT WORTH (CBSNewsTexas.com) - The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office identified 57-year-old Andra Craig as the man killed after Fort Worth police officers ran into his pickup during a pursuit.
Witnesses said Craig had the green light as he drove through the intersection of Rosedale and Evans just after 6 p.m. Thursday. A police SUV came through at the same time, chasing a car reported stolen. The FWPD SUV hit Craig's pickup; he was ejected and died.
The stolen car, a Dodge Challenger, already had a deflated tire and witnesses said it was swerving to stay on the road. The car stopped a block away from the crash; FWPD said officers arrested two people after a foot pursuit. As of Friday, the department would not identify those people or the charges they could face.
Craig's death is the second in three weeks from a FWPD pursuit. In June, officers were chasing a pickup that had been reported stolen when it crashed. A 15-year-old girl inside the truck was killed.
Criminologist Dr. Alex del Carmen says in most police pursuits, officers have to balance the gravity of the offense or the offender with the safety of the public. "So, for instance, if you have a shoplifting incident, or something not necessarily considered urgent or the public isn't in imminent danger, or the person is not a wanted felon, most departments may not pursue it."
He also says the department is likely taking a second look at its policies. "I'm sure the chief and command staff are sitting down looking at these two incidents and saying, 'did they have to happen? Were these chases performed under policy? Secondly, is there anything we could've done to prevent the loss of life?'"
Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes told CBS Texas Friday that he was unaware of any other crimes the suspects may have been wanted for in addition to the stolen car, but the department was still reviewing the incident.
CBS News Texas asked FWPD for a copy of its pursuit policy. The department posts much of its general orders online, but the section about pursuits is restricted. We were told to file an open records request for the information.
We took a random sampling of about 20 police departments and found less than half have their pursuit policies posted online.
DALLAS (pg 78)
DESOTO (pg 161)
Seven others responded to our requests to share their policies.
A spokesman for Garland PD says the department just updated its policy this month and the wording is still being finalized.
Arlington PD, Grand Prairie PD, and McKinney PD told us to file an open records request.