Fort Worth officer terminated for excessive force on YouTuber filming accident scene
TARRANT COUNTY – A Fort Worth police officer has been terminated for using excessive force during a June arrest, which resulted in a woman who was videoing an accident scene needing medical attention, authorities said.
Officer Matthew Krueger's use of force on June 23 was found to be unjustified and in violation of department policy, according to the Fort Worth Police Department. Consequently, Krueger was terminated on Wednesday, authorities said.
An investigation conducted by Fort Worth police's Major Case and Internal Affairs units determined:
- Just before 3:30 p.m. on June 23, officers responded to a hit-and-run accident involving a suspected intoxicated driver in the 1000 block of Foch Street. The woman approached and used her cell phone to record the scene.
- Krueger asked her multiple times to move across the street, and when she didn't comply, he placed her under arrest.
- Krueger's use of force during the woman's arrest led to her requiring medical attention at a local hospital.
- After being treated and released from the hospital, the woman was charged with interference with public duties, resisting arrest/detention, evading arrest, and making a false alarm/report.
Three days later, the woman – identified as Carolyn Rodriguez – recounted the incident with CBS News Texas.
Rodriguez's YouTube page features dozens of interactions with police officers.
Officials said Wednesday that Krueger had spent nearly eight years with the Fort Worth Police Department and was assigned to its patrol bureau at the time of the incident.
The department said Krueger was immediately transferred from patrol to a unit "with no public interaction," pending the investigation's outcome.
Meanwhile, Fort Worth Police Officers' Association President Lloyd Cook issued a statement expressing his "shock and disappointment" with Krueger's termination.
"Officer Krueger's indefinite suspension today raises serious concerns about how internal discipline is administered within the Fort Worth Police Department," Cook said. "The FWPD Use of Force Review Board, made up of police use of force subject matter experts, supported Officer Krueger's use of force to gain control of Ms. Rodriguez. The technique Officer Krueger used is taught in FWPD academy training.
"Clearly, Chief Neil Noakes ignored the report of the Use of Force Review Board in his decision to indefinitely suspend Officer Krueger."
In addition, Cook said the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney's Office declined Krueger's case, stating "no criminal conduct was committed by any of the officers during the detention of Carolyn Rodriguez."
"However," Cook added, "a Tarrant County jury did find Ms. Rodriguez guilty of interference with public duties and sentenced her to a fine and jail time – the offense Officer Krueger was attempting to stop."
Because of the department's decision involving Krueger, Cook said, "Individuals like Ms. Rodriguez will only be empowered in the future to interfere with legitimate police actions, making the job of protecting the citizens of Fort Worth even more difficult and dangerous for the brave men and women of the FWPD."
As a result, the association said it "looks forward to Officer Krueger's arbitration, where we are confident that an unbiased third-party hearing examiner will reinstate his position with FWPD."
