A Fort Worth police officer fatally shot an armed man during a dispute in downtown Fort Worth early Friday morning, police say. [[320249741,C]]
Bicycle officers were on routine patrol at about 1:30 a.m. when they saw two groups of people arguing near the intersection of West 5th and Houston streets, according to Fort Worth Police Department spokesman Sgt. Steven Enright.
Enright said the shooting victim pointed a gun at another man and an officer ordered him to drop it.
"When he refused and he felt that that was going to lead to the person shooting someone, he [the officer] fired in defense of that person," Enright said.
The man was declared dead later at the hospital.
Relatives confirmed the victim was Phillip Vallejo, from Kennedale, who was celebrating his 30th birthday with family and friends at the Ojos Locos Cantina at that intersection.
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He was a welder and pipefitter, and his 17-year-old stepson, D.J. Santos, said the victim was a great dad.
"There's no words that can begin to explain my feelings about this," Santos said. "I lost my dad again, and now I'm the backbone of this family. Now I got to take care of my mom."
The victim's wife and other friends and relatives were with him at the birthday celebration and they dispute the police version of what happened.
They claim the man's hands were up when he was shot.
Sister-in-law Elizabeth Gonsman said cell phone video of the aftermath from witnesses shows police looking at wounds in the man's back as he lay handcuffed on the ground.
"Why do you feel like you had to shoot him five times, and you couldn't tase him? And you couldn't give him CPR when he's dying on the ground? You have to put him in handcuffs? He's not moving anymore. Everybody's telling them to help him," Gonsman said.
Friday afternoon, Fort Worth attorney David Cantu walked the streets near the shooting scene looking for surveillance video on behalf of the family.
"Video footage is the best evidence," he said. "You can't deny what you're going to see on video."
The officer, a 23-year veteran, will be placed on administrative leave while authorities investigate the incident.
NBC 5's Ken Kalthoff and Ellen Bryan contributed to this report.