FORT WORTH, Texas — A felony tampering with evidence charge filed against a former Fort Worth police sergeant has been dismissed, according to Fort Worth Criminal Defense Lawyer Varghese Summersett.
On Monday, Summersett's law office said in a release that former Fort Worth Police Set. Rodsdricke Martin's case was dismissed by the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney's Office.
Martin, 47, was indicted in 2022 and subsequently fired from the police department on accusations that he deleted photos alleged to have been child pornography from a hospital patient's computer while working in an off-duty capacity.
The case was dismissed after prosecutors determined that the "recovered image did not meet the definition of child pornography," Summersett said.
The district attorney's office has not released a statement on Martin's case.
"We thoroughly reviewed the file and determined that no crime was committed by Sgt. Martin," said Defense Attorney Tiffany Burks, of the law firm Varghese Summersett. "After bringing our concerns to prosecutors attention, they agreed and determined that his case warranted a dismissal. Sgt. Martin dedicated 16 years of his life to serving the community as a Fort Worth police officer. While he is pleased with this outcome, he now must fight to restore his reputation and his career."
In January 2022, the department received a complaint Martin destroyed evidence while working off-duty.
Martin had been an officer with Fort Worth PD since 2006. Police had not said what evidence he may have destroyed and what case or cases may be involved.
As a result of the complaint in January 2022, police said they launched a criminal and administrative investigation.
In a statement back then, the Fort Worth Police Department said it takes the allegations very seriously and “will work diligently to ensure that all facts are obtained and scrutinized closely.”
Kyev Tatum is a pastor at New Mountrose Missionary Baptist. Tatum had been been critical of Fort Worth in recent years, going back to what he believes was the wrongful firing of former Chief Joel Fitzgerald, but he said he knows Sgt. Martin and he respects him.
“We want to wait and see both sides of the story,” Tatum said. “We don’t know all the facts, so until we get all the facts, we can’t say anything definitive about this case but we do know right is right and wrong is wrong.”
On Feb. 8, 2022, an officer was arrested for suspicion of driving a police vehicle while intoxicated.
In a separate case, a woman told WFAA Fort Worth police returned their stolen car with evidence and stolen property still inside. Police now say that was wrong.
At the time, Tatum said he hopes better days are ahead.
“We do deserve to have a police department that we can trust. We don’t always have to like you but we respect you because we trust you,” he said. “We don’t hate the police. We love the police. We want good policing. We want good police on our streets and in our communities and working with our leadership.”