Fort Worth police officer-involved shootings are up this year
FORT WORTH (CBSNewsTexas.com) — So far this year, Fort Worth police officers have opened fire on eight suspects. Four were killed.
This already matches the number of officer-involved shootings the department reported to the state in all of 2022. The department reported three officer-involved shootings in 2021 to the Texas Attorney General's Office.
Every time this year that a Fort Worth police officer shot and killed or injured a person, the officer's body camera was recording. And in every case, the Fort Worth Police Department has made at least some of the body camera video public.
The department has released an edited version of the incident in each case on the department's social media pages. The police videos include a narration by Chief Neil Noakes.
The suspects in each of these incidents were armed, according to police, but not always with a gun. In two cases, the suspects had a knife and in another case, the suspect had a pepper spray gun.
In two cases this year, body camera videos show Fort Worth officers first tried deploying a taser but when it was ineffective, according to police, the officers fired their guns.
Three of the Fort Worth officer-involved shootings happened in the 76133 zip code in southwest Fort Worth. Two, including the latest on July 5, occurred in the 76106 zip code in northwest Fort Worth.
Statewide, Texas law enforcement agencies have reported more than 97 officer-involved shootings this year. Since 2016, police departments have been required to report officer-involved shootings to the Texas Attorney General's Office. A list of the incidents is posted online.
