Body-cam footage shows Arlington officer fatally shooting woman as he fires at dog
August 2, 2019 in News by RBN Staff
Source: Dallas News
Written by
Updated at 6 p.m. Aug. 2: Revised to include the officer’s body-cam footage.
Maggie Brooks and her dog had become fixtures at the North Arlington shopping center near where she was accidentally slain by a police officer Thursday afternoon.
She was shot by an officer who found her passed out in the grass and opened fire on a loose dog that he said had run toward him barking.
Margarita Victoria Brooks, 30, was struck once in the chest and died at 6 p.m. at Medical City Arlington Hospital, according to the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office. The dog survived.
It was unclear whether it was Brooks’ dog, which was well taken care of and routinely got fed “before she did,” Larry Hamilton, who lives nearby and knew Brooks, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
A spokesman for the Arlington Fire Department said Brooks is the daughter of a city fire captain, WFAA-TV (Channel 8) reported.
First responders were called about 5:15 p.m. for a welfare check on Brooks, who was lying in a grassy area near Cantor Drive and North Collins Street.
A police officer approached her and noticed an unrestrained dog. When the officer called out to the woman, the dog began to run at the officer and bark, police said.
The officer retreated from the dog, pulled out his gun and fired multiple times, police said. Police said Brooks yelled after the shots were fired and that it was “apparent she was injured.”
“Everything about this call is an absolute tragedy,” Arlington police Chief Will Johnson said at a news conference Friday afternoon. “Our hearts are broken for the Brooks family and the police officer involved.”
The dog, which officials think was grazed by a bullet, is in quarantine at the Arlington animal shelter, police said. Officials described the dog as a 40-pound Labrador retriever mix.
The officer, whose name has not been released, is 25 and has been with the department seven years, police said. He started as a detention officer, graduated from the police academy in February and was cleared for field work July 21, police said.
He was placed on administrative leave, which is routine in shootings involving police.
The shooting was recorded by the officer’s body camera and will be used during criminal and administrative investigations, police said.
Brooks’ family was shown the footage Friday afternoon, police said, and the department released it later in the day.
Warning: The following video contains graphic content.
In the footage, the officer is heard asking, “Hello? Are you OK? Is that your dog?” as he walks down a sidewalk behind the shopping center.
“Can you get—” he says as the dog starts running toward him and barking. “Get back!”
Two seconds later, the officer fires three shots toward the dog while backpedaling. The dog turns away and runs back toward Brooks
“What the [expletive],” Brooks screams. “Oh my god. Police shot me.”
The officer reports that he has fired three shots and then approaches Brooks, telling her, “Ma’am, get a hold of your dog.”
Larry Hamilton, a 64-year-old who often tries to find work outside this Arlington Walmart, said he knew the woman killed by an officer as well as her boyfriend. He said they had a small brown dog and “she was real loving to the dog.” The dog “was her soul,” he said. pic.twitter.com/2wCLbGocxb
— Jack Howland (@JHowl04) August 2, 2019
Acquaintances described Brooks as homeless and said she and her boyfriend often were at the shopping center.
Justin Patton, who owns CBD American Shaman, said everyone there knew Brooks and her boyfriend to be friendly and that they never caused problems. He said Brooks always appeared to be put together, but that she and the boyfriend were there every day.
Patton also said it was hard to believe her dog was being aggressive because it was always friendly to store owners and customers.
A manager at a Subway that Brooks visited often said the “down-on-their-luck” couple had been there for months and her boyfriend often offered to wash customers’ windows for tips.
Customers have been leaving money throughout the day to give to her boyfriend if he returns, said the Subway manager, who declined to give her name.
One employee at a Walmart in the shopping complex said she and her boyfriend would rest under a large tree in the parking lot. He described the dog as a small pit bull mix, according to the Star-Telegram.
Another man who knew Brooks said she had a loving relationship with her dog and considered it “her soul,” the Star-Telegram reported.