Forth Worth police chief gives details of last Saturday’s police shootings

FORT WORTH — Fort Worth Police Chief Eddie García on Friday identified two men killed in separate police shootings early Saturday and released new details about what officers and police video show led to the gunfire.

The first shooting happened about 12:05 a.m. in the 4200 block of Wiman Drive after police received 14 calls and several text messages to 911 about shots being fired in the neighborhood, García said at a news conference.

East Division officers arrived and heard more gunfire as they approached the area on foot, García said. Officers ran toward the gunfire and saw an armed man near a sidewalk, he said.

García said officers ordered the man to drop the gun before two officers fired, striking him. Officers provided medical aid until the Fort Worth Fire Department arrived, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police identified him as 25-year-old Emmitt Elijah Mayo.

An edited video released by the department appeared to show Mayo holding a gun before officers fired. The video also showed a gun on the ground after the shooting.

García said Mayo had a Glock 17 that was illegally modified with a Glock switch, which can convert a handgun into a fully automatic weapon. The gun had one bullet in the chamber and an extended magazine loaded with 16 rounds, García said.

Evidence collected at the scene was consistent with at least one gunshot coming from the sidewalk area where Mayo was standing, entering through the rear passenger window of a car and exiting through the driver’s window toward officers, García said. He said investigators had not determined whether the round came from Mayo’s gun or another weapon.

Crime scene officers collected more than 30 fired casings between an alley behind 4200 Wiman Drive and the front sidewalk of 4208 Wiman Drive, García said. Those casings are believed to be tied to the shots-fired calls before officers encountered Mayo, he said.

“This was a large crime scene with multiple locations, and it will take time for the evidence to be fully analyzed,” García said.

García said Mayo was a known gang member. He also said investigators are reviewing information about whether the gunfire was connected to an earlier argument or incident nearby, but officers did not know that context when they arrived.

“All the officers knew is they already had calls that were there — 14 calls — about there being active shooting in the neighborhood,” García said. “My officers arrive on scene, and they hear more shots being fired in the direction, and my officers run toward gunfire, not away from it.”

The second shooting happened about 4:15 a.m. while officers were still investigating the first shooting scene, García said.

Officers saw a white Chevrolet Traverse driving north on Miller Avenue across Wiman Drive at a high rate of speed, García said. A few minutes later, the vehicle returned to the area, traveling south in the northbound lanes near marked police vehicles and officers standing nearby, according to García.

García said officers positioned themselves to stop the vehicle if it returned. The Traverse came back a third time at a high rate of speed, and officers activated their emergency lights and sirens, but the driver did not stop, he said.

During the pursuit, the driver turned around and passed the original crime scene a fourth time, García said. One officer deployed stop sticks, and officers reported the driver tried to hit them and marked patrol vehicles, he said.

The pursuit lasted about 15 minutes and ended on northbound East Loop 820 between East Lancaster Avenue and Meadowbrook Drive after an approved tactical vehicle intervention, García said. 

Officers approached the Traverse with guns drawn and gave multiple commands, García said. The driver did not comply, threatened an officer while reaching around inside the vehicle and grabbed at an officer’s handgun, García said. 

An edited video released by the department appeared to show contact between the driver and an officer who had his gun drawn and pointed toward the driver. García said the driver grabbed at the officer’s handgun before officers fired.

Officers then fired, striking the driver. He was pronounced dead at the scene by the Fort Worth Fire Department, police said.

Police identified him as 29-year-old Jorge Contreras. 

A Fort Worth police sergeant was injured during the shooting and taken to a hospital, García said. The injury appeared to have been caused by shrapnel fragments, and the sergeant has since been released from the hospital, he said.

García said investigators have not confirmed whether Mayo and Contreras knew each other or whether the second incident was an act of retaliation. He said the only confirmed connection is that the second incident began near the scene of the first shooting while officers were still investigating.

“That did go through officers’ heads that night, but we don’t know that,” García said of the possibility of retaliation. “There is no confirmation of that.”

Detectives with the department’s major case unit and internal affairs are investigating both shootings, police said. The two officers involved in the first shooting and five officers involved in the second were placed on critical incident leave, which García said is routine.

García said both shootings will undergo a “thorough and transparent review.”

“No matter the circumstances, the loss of life is tragic,” García said. “A father has lost a son, and we recognize the emotional impact the family may be experiencing.”

García also addressed broader questions about crime and police shootings in Fort Worth, saying one occurrence does not represent a trend. He said the department has had five police shootings this year, three of them fatal.

García said violent crime, including murders and aggravated assaults, is down in the city.

“We owe it to ourselves and our community to make sure that we’re giving them the actual facts,” García said.