Fort Worth Chief of Police Neil Noakes played a few seconds of bodycam video Monday showing the moments leading up to a fatal officer-involved shooting Sunday afternoon.
Noakes added to preliminary information released Sunday saying they were releasing a very short clip from the officer's bodycam and that parts were intentionally "blanked out" out of respect for the person who lost his life, identified Monday by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner as 31-year-old Ryan O'Neal Williams.
The chief said Monday officers were called at 1:34 p.m. Sunday about a man who was attempting to steal a truck "using force" on Fairview Street.
By the time the officer arrived in the area four minutes later, Noakes said several other calls had been placed to 911 reporting the same man was trying to pull over and take other cars.
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Noakes said the first officer on the scene spotted a man matching the one described by callers on Race Street. Noakes said the officer pulled his patrol car in front of the man who then turned and ran in the other direction.
When the officer got out of his squad car and turned in Williams' direction, Noakes said the officer saw a handgun in the man's hand and began to yell for him to drop the weapon.
Witness Scott Ross told NBC 5 on Sunday when the officer jumped out of the car, he heard him yell, "Stop, stop, stop" before he heard gunshots.
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In a short segment of the bodycam video released Monday afternoon, Noakes said Williams did not drop his weapon and instead raised his arm, pointed his gun at the officer, and fired at least one shot. Noakes said the officer responded with deadly force, firing at least six times and fatally wounding Williams.
"This is a tragic situation, any way you look at it," Noakes said. "A life was lost and anytime a life is lost it's a tragic situation."
Noakes said a witness to the shooting corroborated the story that Williams pointed his weapon at the officer. Bodycam video was shown by Noakes Monday afternoon, he said, appears to show a flash or a puff of smoke coming from Williams' weapon indicating he fired it at the officer.
During a news conference Monday afternoon, Noakes first showed the short clip at normal speed before showing it again frame by frame, to show how quickly the situation developed and to try to show what the officer saw when he exited his vehicle.
In the final few frames of the video, Noakes said a gun was visible in Williams' hand and that he then raised his arm toward the officer before a puff of smoke appears in the next frame.
Noakes added that more evidence is needed to confirm whether the man fired on the officer.
Police are very early on in their investigation into the shooting, Noakes said, and that the officer involved, a four-year veteran of the department, is on routine administrative leave pending the outcome of that investigation.
The chief asked anyone with video of the incident, from phones, doorbell cameras, or any other source, to please share that with them so that it may be considered as evidence in the investigation.
