The family of a woman who was fatally shot by an Arlington police officer trying to shoot a dog charging toward him is suing for at least $2 million.
Margarita Brooks, 30, was the subject of a welfare call and, according to a federal lawsuit filed Thursday, July 15 by her father, Troy Brooks, she was lying peacefully in the grass on Aug. 1, 2019, when she was shot by an Arlington police officer.
"As the officer began to approach what appeared to be a woman lying in the grass, he noticed there was also an unrestrained dog," Arlington police said in a statement on the day of the shooting.
Police said the officer called out to the woman and that the dog then started barking and running toward him.
Get DFW local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC DFW newsletters.
Arlington police said in 2019 the officer retreated, pulled out his gun, and fired toward the dog several times. Afterward, Brooks started to cry out and it was apparent she had been injured, police said.
Brooks, who was a mother to three children, was hospitalized and later died. Her cause of death was ruled a homicide.
The officer who shot her, Ravi Singh, resigned from the department in November 2019 amid an administrative investigation and in September 2020 he was indicted on a charge of criminally negligent homicide by a Tarrant County grand jury.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
The criminal case against Singh has not yet gone to trial.
Troy Brooks' lawsuit seeks remediation on two counts, one a violation of the 14th Amendment against Singh and the second a violation of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code filed against both Singh and the City of Arlington.
Brooks is represented by civil rights attorney Lee Merritt.
