ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - The Latest on the shooting of a woman by an Arlington, Texas, police officer who had been aiming at a dog (all times local):
7:25 p.m.
Footage from a Texas police officer’s body-worn camera shows the officer firing three times at a dog that is running at him and captures the cries of a woman who was accidentally shot and killed.
The officer in the Dallas suburb of Arlington responded to a welfare check Thursday about a woman who appeared to be passed out in a grassy area behind a shopping plaza. The body camera video released Friday shows the officer walking along a sidewalk and calling out, “Hello. Are you OK?”
The woman replies, “Yeah, I’m fine.” A dog approaches and the officer asks, “Is that your dog?”
As the barking dog runs toward him, the officer yells, “Get back!” He begins to back up and then fires three shots. The woman later identified as 30-year-old Margarita Victoria Brooks screams, “Oh, my God!” and continues to cry out.
Investigators think the dog, which Police Chief Will Johnson described as weighing about 40 pounds, belonged to the woman.
___
5:35 p.m.
Police say a Texas officer who fatally shot a woman while aiming at a dog that was running at him and barking had completed his training only a month before.
Arlington Police Chief Will Johnson said Friday that the 25-year-old officer had completed academy training in February and was released from supervised patrol duty on July 1.
Johnson said the officer hadn’t fired his service weapon in the line of duty before Thursday, when he shot 30-year-old Margarita Brooks in the chest. The dog, which investigators think belonged to Brooks, suffered a graze wound and has been placed in quarantine.
Footage of the shooting recorded by the officer’s body-worn camera was released Friday at the news conference where Johnson spoke. Johnson said Brooks’ family has been shown the video.
He said criminal and administrative investigations are underway.
___
8:45 a.m.
Police in Texas say a patrol officer accidentally shot and killed a woman when he fired repeatedly at a dog that was charging at him.
The officer and other emergency workers were responded Thursday to a welfare check in the Dallas suburb of Arlington concerning a woman who appeared to be passed out in a grassy area near a commercial district.
Authorities say the barking dog ran toward the officer as he was calling the woman. The officer began backing away, then drew his weapon and fired at the dog as it continued to charge.
The woman yelled out after the shots were fired. She was taken to a hospital, where she died. Police believe the dog belonged to the woman. The animal survived.
Investigators are reviewing body camera footage of the shooting.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.