Officer Shoots Suspect At Fort Worth Club
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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - Police in Fort Worth are investigating a shooting that involved one of their own officers. The incident happened at around 2:15 a.m. Wednesday outside of Buck's Cabaret, located near the intersection of Meacham Boulevard and Mark IV Parkway.
Patrolling officers noticed a disturbance at a club, involving two groups of men, police said. They tried to disperse those individuals through verbal commands from inside of their cars, but the men ignored the officers. One man discharged a handgun and then turned toward the crowd in a threatening way.
"They saw one male in one of the groups take off his shirt and start yelling at the other group of males," said Sgt. Steve Enright with the Fort Worth Police Department. One person from the other group of males presented himself and fired a single shot in the air, at which time officers exited their vehicles and approached the two groups of people."
Police said that about 30 people were involved in the disagreement, just after the club had closed for the night. Officers feared that it was about to turn into a large fight, especially after the suspect fired a shot into the air.
Thinking that the man was about to start shooting at the crowd, one officer fired twice. The suspect was struck and fell to the ground.
"There was one shot that was fired in the air during the course of the altercation between the two groups," Enright said. "As officers approached that man, he turned towards them with the gun and officers fired on him."
Another man pulled the wounded suspect inside of a truck and drove away. Investigators later found the suspect along with the truck and a group of people at JPS Hospital in Fort Worth. He is now there in fair condition after surgery. The man's name has not been released.
Police later identified the officer involved in the shooting as J.B. Caffey. He has been with the department since August 2007, but is now on administrative leave until the investigation is complete. Caffey was not hurt during the incident.
Investigators are still working on this case. They have focused their efforts toward the front of the building. A worker at the club early Wednesday said that he did not hear anything from inside, and had no idea that it had happened. Several other witnesses are now being questioned.
One of the officers at the scene was wearing a body camera, and the club has several surveillance cameras. These could help police in their investigation.
