Jury finds former Arlington officer Ravi Singh not guilty in the murder of Margarita "Maggie" Brooks
ARLINGTON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - A Tarrant County jury has found Ravi Singh not guilty for the murder of Margarita "Maggie" Brooks.
Singh was indicted in September 2020 for criminally negligent homicide, which carries a punishment range of 180 days to two years in prison.
Brooks' father, Troy Brooks, told CBS 11 that he doesn't know how anyone could come to that decision.
"You see the video for yourself," he said. "There's nobody that owns a gun that would ever take that shot. Ever. But if you're a police officer, you're covered in absolute immunity. You can do whatever you want, and there are no repercussions for you."
He was just a month on the job in 2019 when he responded to a call to check on a woman sleeping behind a shopping center. When he found her, her dog charged at him and he fired his gun. The bullet ricocheted and hit Brooks in the chest.
Singh's defense was he was trying to help when he faced a threat from the dog and it was a tragic accident. An expert witness for the state pointed out that Singh knew there was someone in the direction he was pointing his gun, but he fired anyway, ignoring his training and firearm safety.
Singh said that he is deeply sorry for his actions.
"I just want to get this all behind me," he said. "It was always my dream to serve this country, and serve my citizens of Arlington. And this was never my intention of what happened to Maggie. I was there to help her, and this was a completely tragic accident."
There were a number of supporters in the courtroom for Singh on Monday while he waited for the verdict, including several from law enforcement organizations.
"I think publicity puts a slant on the perspective," said Defense Attorney Kathy Lowthorp. "Until you look at everything and look at it from all angles, forensically, videos, testimony, witnesses, you can't come to that decision."
"It was made prematurely on this case, back a few years ago when it happened," she continued. "And the videos were played over and over and over. But until you understood the facts and realized this was a richochet—that didn't come out until right before indictment. So a lot of decisions were made without knowing that this was strictly a double ricochet."
The Tarrant County District Attorney released the following statement after the verdict:
"A Tarrant County jury on Monday found former Arlington Police Officer Ravinder "Ravi" Singh not guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the death of Margarita "Maggie" Victoria Brooks in 2019. Any time an officer is involved in the use of force that results in the death of a civilian, our office takes that investigation to a Grand Jury. If the Grand Jury returns an indictment on the officer, we prosecute the case. A jury heard the facts related to the death of Ms. Brooks in 2019. They evaluated the testimony and evidence and determined that Ravinder Singh was not guilty. By doing so, the jury fulfilled their duty in the criminal justice system, as did we."
