Fort Worth Chief Rushed to Fire Officer Who Shot Into Car So She Couldn't Appeal, Police Group Says

The Fort Worth Police Officers Association on Tuesday blasted the termination of an officer for firing her gun at a fleeing felon's car and accused the chief of rushing an investigation so the officer could not appeal.Officer Lina Mino, a rookie, was fired by Chief Joel Fitzgerald on Friday. The department released a statement Tuesday on the officer's termination."The Fort Worth Police Department has an established policy prohibiting officers from employing deadly force by shooting into vehicles unless the vehicle poses an immediate threat to that officer (or someone else)," the statement said. "In this instance, the vehicle slowly drove away from the officer and posed no immediate threat to the officer."Sgt. Manny Ramirez, president of the Fort Worth Police Officers' Association, said the internal investigation was done in record time so that Mino would not have the right to appeal. Mino would have ended her one-year probationary period just seven hours after she was fired. "This termination will serve no other purpose than to send a message throughout our police department that hard work and integrity do not outweigh political expediency," Ramirez said.For the full story, visit nbcdfw.com.  Continue reading...