Fort Worth officer arrested for off-duty shooting, faces aggravated assault charge
FORT WORTH — A Fort Worth police officer who shot a man while off-duty has been arrested and booked into Tarrant County Jail, police said Friday.
Officer William Martin has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Martin's attorney P. Micheal Schneider said the officer surrendered to the Tarrant County Jail and was released on bond.
He will be placed on detached duty pending the completion and review of an Internal Affairs investigation, according to the Fort Worth Police Department.
Martin, who has been with the Fort Worth PD for 19 years, was off duty on Sept. 3 when he shot a man who he claimed was trying to ram him with his vehicle after a hit-and-run.
"The Fort Worth Police Department is filled with officers who do the job right every day," the department said in a news release. "Our department will continue to hold employees accountable who do not meet the standards expected of a Fort Worth police officer, and in doing so, we will continue to be transparent and open with our community."
Martin said the hit-and-run happened on I-35W, alleging that the driver of the pickup truck that hit him did not stop. Martin followed the truck to Morningside Drive, about five miles away, where he claimed the driver tried to ram him with his truck. That's when, police said, Martin pulled out his gun and fired multiple shots. The driver was taken to a nearby hospital and was expected to be OK.
After the incident, some members of the Fort Worth community spoke at a recent city council meeting, expressing concern about Martin's status.
This was not the first high-profile incident involving Martin. In 2016, a video circulated of Martin slamming Jacqueline Craig to the ground and arresting her. Craig had called 911 to report a neighbor attacking her child.
Martin was suspended for 10 days but kept his job. Craig sued the city for excessive force, but a federal appeals court eventually ruled that Martin had qualified immunity. The case was settled, with Craig awarded $150,000. She died in 2023.
Meanwhile, Martin's attorney said Martin will be proven innocent of the charges.
"His actions were wholly in line with the duties of a peace officer under Texas law," Schneider said. "This case is a prime example of what happens when a police department places political expediency ahead of a thorough and complete investigation of the facts."
Martin's sworn affidavit
A news release sent Saturday by Martin's attorney included the officer's sworn affidavit. In it, Martin states that he has been denied the opportunity to listen to the 911 call he made or review the statements he made to the officers who responded to the scene.
In Martin's narrative, he was driving home in his personal vehicle in heavy, slow-moving traffic. He noticed a red truck moving faster than all the other cars in his mirror. When it pulled up next to him, the affidavit reads, the truck began to drift into Martin's lane. Martin said he drove partially onto the shoulder "to avoid a collision." He said the driver looked directly at him and continued to move into his lane and collided with Martin's vehicle.
In his statement, Martin said he thought the driver would move right, onto the shoulder, so the two could exchange insurance information; however, the driver of the red truck moved to the left and Martin believed the driver was trying to flee. Martin said he then began to follow the truck as he called 911 to report what happened.
Martin stated that there was no license plate on the back of the truck, so he positioned himself "slightly ahead of the driver's side of the red truck at one point" to check for a front license plate and did not see one.
He said if he had seen a license plate he would have stopped following and waited for patrol to arrive.
Martin said the driver of the red truck was making sharp maneuvers, increasingly aggressive and with "total disregard for the surrounding traffic was causing extreme danger to the other drivers." Martin said he continued to follow the driver and relay information via the 911 call.
As they continued traveling, Martin stated he was able to pull in front of the truck and use the traffic around them to box the truck in until they could come to a complete stop. He said he intended to announce himself as a police officer then, deescalating the situation, and detain the driver until on-duty officers arrived.
Martin said that as he was putting his vehicle into the park, the driver quickly accelerated and collided with his vehicle.
Martin said he quickly got out of his vehicle, drew his weapon, pointed it at the truck and yelled for the driver to get out. He said at the same time, he heard the truck's engine rev and it suddenly moved forward.
"The driver had already hit my car twice intentionally and nearly caused many other life-threatening accidents," Martin wrote in his sworn affidavit. "I fired my weapon."
Martin said the driver then drove off. He continued to follow and relay information to 911, notifying the call taker that shots had been fired. A few miles later, he saw marked police units approaching from behind and pulled over so they could make contact with the truck.
Schneider said he's pleased the case is now with the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office "who we trust will handle this case appropriately and professionally."
"My only hope is that Officer Martin's exoneration will be covered as universally and completely as his unmerited arrest today," Schneider said.