Pastor Demands Police Release Video Of Man Who Died In Custody
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - A Fort Worth pastor called for police to release video of events leading to the death of a man in custody. Fort Worth Police on Friday also revealed they referred the case to internal affairs investigators, five days after the July 26th incident.
The man, identified by the medical examiner's office as 55-year-old Christopher Lowe, died after police took him into custody following a call about a possible break-in. In a news release this week, police said the man had asked for medical help, but police didn't call for it until they found the man unresponsive.
Dr. Michael Bell, a pastor at Greater St. Stephen First Church, said he believes car or body camera video will make it clear what happened.
"Why is that person ignored?" he asked Friday. "Especially when from our understanding, he started saying that immediately, and the video will reveal that."
Bell said he first heard about the incident from people inside the police department. That was a concern as well, he said, due to a commitment he and other pastors had a role in crafting four years ago with the department, to communicate about "critical incidents."
"We're supposed to be notified by the police chief, when anything like this is even in the offing," said Bell. "Even if he can't give specifics, he can say, hey there's something happening, and police are involved."
The city referred all questions to police Friday, who responded "yes," when asked if community groups were notified about the incident. There was no indication which groups received that notification.
Police also said they notified the city manager's office about the incident July 31, the same day the case was referred to internal affairs.
