FORT WORTH, Texas — Fort Worth residents and community leaders say they want their police department to fire an officer who shot a man after an alleged hit-and-run last week.
The department has stripped officer William Martin of his badge and gun while it investigates the incident, which occurred on Sept. 3. In 2017, the department suspended Martin in a high-profile case that prompted Fort Worth police to reexamine their use of force policies.
Martin was off-duty, driving southbound on I-35 near Morningside Drive when he says another driver hit his car and drove off. According to an initial news release from FWPD, Martin started to follow the truck that hit him.
The officer told his investigators the Ford F-150 driver then tried to ram into his car, so he shot at the man driving the truck multiple times. The other driver was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Police are still conducting an administrative and criminal investigation.
In its own documents, the department now classifies the incident as a potential "aggravated assault causing bodily injury with a deadly weapon." The department would not confirm whether they're investigating Martin for that crime or the driver he shot.
In 2016, Martin was involved in the controversial arrest of Jacqueline Craig. Video of that arrest went viral and sparked protests.
Craig had called 911 to report that a neighbor grabbed her son by the neck and accused him of littering. Martin responded to the call and questioned Craig's parenting when he arrived at the scene.
"Why don't you teach your son not to litter?" Martin asked Craig.
The two got into a heated exchange, where Martin told Craig "If you keep yelling at me, you're going to piss me off and I'm going to take you to jail."
Martin took Craig to the ground, placed a Taser in her back, and handcuffed her. Martin also grabbed Craig's 15-year-old daughter by the neck and arrested her, too.
Video of those arrests garnered more than 5 million views. The Fort Worth Police Department suspended Martin for 10 days after the incident.
In 2022, Fort Worth paid Craig $150,000 to settle a lawsuit she filed. Craig died of cancer in September 2023.
"There is no reason why Martin should continue to work for the Fort Worth Police Department," Gerald Banks told Fort Worth city councilmembers during a public comment session Tuesday. "He is a menace to society. Fire Martin now."
Pastor Kyev Tatum, a prominent Fort Worth activist, told WFAA Wednesday that Martin should be fired and arrested.
"He engaged in reckless endangerment of himself, the public, and that other person," Tatum said. "Allow citizens - his peers - to decide whether he's guilty or innocent of another crime."
Tatum also criticized the department for withholding the identity of the man Martin shot, though police do not typically share the names of victims. Police also did not immediately identify Martin as the shooter.
"There was no forthrightness," he said. "When you don't allow public involvement in the initial process, it produces mistrust."