A Fort Worth man who was shoved to the ground by a police officer and lost consciousness while in custody is sharing his story.
Late last Friday, Fort Worth police announced they fired Officer Mitchell Miller after reviewing an incident captured by their surveillance cameras showing him shove a person being escorted after being arrested for public intoxication in late January.
In the video, Miller is seen shoving Tawayne Holloway toward the ground while he was handcuffed. Holloway fell face-first onto the concrete, hit his head, and lost consciousness.
Holloway recalled earlier that night, he and a coworker went to his brother’s house for drinks.
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“I call my ride. Next thing I know, I woke up in jail,” he recalled. “When I was released from jail, I had paperwork from JPS.”
Over the past four months, Holloway said he has been focused on healing physically and mentally.
“Every time I hear police sirens, I pull over. I got to smoke a cigarette. It’s like trauma. I’ve never been scared of anyone, anything,” he said. “Now I see them (police), I shut down. That’s a scary feeling for me.”
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According to Fort Worth police, Miller failed to report the use of force and denied it when asked by a supervisor. After another police officer reported his concerns, the department’s Internal Affairs unit began to investigate. Miller was hired in 2017 and previously disciplined for “violating several of the department’s general orders” during his contact with a prisoner, police add.
In a statement last Friday, the department stated in part “The Fort Worth Police Department is filled with officers who do the job right and do it right every day. In this case, Officer Miller did not conduct himself in a manner that represents the professionalism of our officers. Our department will continue to hold employees accountable who do not meet the standards expected of a Fort Worth police officer and in doing so, we will continue to be transparent and open with our community.”
Holloway said moving forward, he hopes this never happens to anyone else.
“There are good cops, and there are bad cops. I think I just ran into a bad cop,” he said.
The case will be reviewed by the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office, according to the Fort Worth Police Department.
