Lake Worth Chief of Police J.T. Manoushagian says the former officer named in a 2020 excessive force lawsuit Monday was also involved in a shooting that killed a teenager in September 2021.
Manoushagian said the name of the officer connected to the shooting case wasn't previously released because the case is pending with a grand jury and he was trying to preserve due process. However, once it became publicly known that the officer was involved in both incidents, the chief says he felt it was appropriate to publicly disclose the connection, confirming that now-former Lake Worth Officer Jonathan Granado was the officer involved in both the 2020 incident that injured motorcycle rider Dustin Bates and the 2021 shooting that killed 18-year-old Estevan Ramirez.
"As soon as I learned that the connection had been made in the public's eye, I immediately went to my team and asked for the press conference because I believe that our community deserves to hear that from me," Manoushagian said.
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The chief said the department was treating the two incidents as separate events. He said in both cases, the Lake Worth Police Department removed themselves from the investigation and invited an outside agency to come in and conduct an unbiased probe.
"It appears there's some sort of pattern involved with this officer," said James Roberts, an attorney representing Bates.
Roberts, along with attorney Scott Palmer, filed a civil lawsuit in federal court Monday on behalf of Bates.
The criminal investigation into the pursuit and injury of Bates as he ran from Granado was conducted by the Grand Prairie Police Department and was closed in March 2021 after a grand jury declined to indict the officer in the case. After that decision, Granado was cleared to return to full duty.
The chief said an independent criminal investigation into the shooting was completed by the Fort Worth Police Department and was turned over to the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office on Dec. 22. The case will eventually be heard by a grand jury who will decide whether or not to indict the former officer. It's not immediately clear when the grand jury will hear the case.
"I don't think they wanted it to come out. If they wanted it to come out, they would've certainly said something yesterday instead of having another impromptu conversation with the press today," Palmer said.
Manoushagian said he believes in procedural justice, adding the department's administrative investigation into the shooting will not be closed until the grand jury has made their decision. After the shooting, Granado was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigations but resigned Dec. 1 before any conclusions or determinations about the shooting had been made.
The chief said Tuesday he takes pride in knowing the officers under his command and that despite having made mistakes, the officer "never once set out to do these things."
"I can say that this officer is a good person. His story is incredible when you learn what he went through and the journey he took to become a police officer in the first place. It's remarkable. That doesn't excuse his actions, it doesn't prevent any good person from making mistakes, we're all subject to that. He's not a bad person, for what it's worth," Manoushagian said.
Both cases are summarized below.
MAN SUES FORMER OFFICER, CLAIMS EXCESSIVE FORCE
A motorcycle rider who tried to outrun a traffic stop in Lake Worth in November 2020 filed a lawsuit Monday claiming Lake Worth Officer Jonathan Granado used excessive force after he was struck and injured while attempting to escape on foot.
The department, meanwhile, says the collision was an accident and that the officer wasn't trying to hit Dustin Bates with his SUV and that the vehicle was having trouble stopping on wet grass.
The officer was disciplined by the department but returned to full duty in the spring after being cleared of any criminal wrongdoing by a grand jury.
Bates is suing the officer directly, not the department, claiming he violated his civil rights by using excessive force. Bates has requested a jury trial and is asking for unspecified punitive damages.
TEEN FATALLY SHOT BY OFFICER
An 18-year-old was fatally shot in September 2021 when one of three people running from police pointed a weapon at pursuing officers.
According to previous reports, Estevan Ramirez was involved in a police chase with two other individuals on Sept. 3 and was shot by a Lake Worth police officer. Ramirez later died at an area hospital.
Manoushagian said in September 2021 that during the chase, Lake Worth police received a call from White Settlement police that they were pursuing a vehicle believed to have been involved in drive-by shootings and that the occupants were believed to be armed and dangerous.
Police said when the chase ended, three people got out of the vehicle and tried to escape on foot. Manoushagian told NBC 5 that one of the three people pointed a weapon at one of the officers and that one of the officers yelled "gun, gun, gun!"
An officer fired his weapon, fatally wounding Ramirez. The officer, identified Tuesday as Granado, was put on administrative leave and resigned from the department on Dec. 1.
The criminal investigation into the shooting was completed on Dec. 22, 2021, and will next be referred to a grand jury.
