FORT WORTH, Texas — Fort Worth police released footage of an incident where an officer shot and killed a man during a standoff late Saturday night.
The video included officer body camera footage along with the unedited 911 call made by the mother of the victim, 29-year-old Taylor Grimes, at around 11 p.m. Oct. 15. The incident took place in the 400 block of Wiman Drive.
Tijuana Bryant says her son, Grimes, got upset Saturday about not getting money after Bryant sold a car and broke her taillights with a hammer, so she called 911 for help.
Audio released by Fort Worth police shows Grimes saying he would hurt his mother if any officers responded.
Police said in a statement released Thursday that a crisis intervention team sergeant and officer responded to the scene to try and speak with Grimes, but he refused to speak with police. The crisis intervention team officers spoke with Bryant to try and get her to leave the house for her safety and wanted to help Grimes to bring the situation to a peaceful conclusion.
Bryant said she wasn’t a hostage and wanted to stay with Grimes during the several hours of the standoff and negotiation until he pushed her out of the house.
Minutes later, police say Grimes walked out, pointed a gun at an officer and was shot and killed. Hearing the shot, Bryant ran back towards the home.
“All I knew is I needed to be with my son," she said. "I didn’t care if it cost me my life. All I knew is I needed to be with my baby.”
The footage released by police includes multiple camera shots of the front door where police say Grimes pointed a gun at officers before being shot. It is even circled in the video, slowed down and zoomed in, but it is still not clear Grimes is pointing a weapon at officers.
"The officer responded to the deadly threat by firing his weapon, striking the suspect. The suspect was pronounced deceased on the scene," police said in the press release.
Medical aid was provided to Grimes, police say, but he was later pronounced dead on scene. Police say a handgun was found next to Grimes inside the house.
"It is important to remember that when officers arrived on scene and saw Grimes with his handgun, they immediately de-escalated the situation and moved to a point of cover," Fort Worth police said in a statement. "Officers spoke with Grimes and his mother for over two hours in attempts to end this situation peacefully and safely. No force was used until Grimes endangered officers by pointing his handgun at them."
Bryant says her son has struggled with suicidal thoughts and spoke of wanting to die Saturday.
“When I looked into his eyes, he wasn’t my son. That wasn’t the Taylor I’m used to," she said. “Out of all five of my sons, he was the gentlest one. He wouldn’t hurt anybody."
Law enforcement expert Dr. Alex Del Carmen helped audit the city’s police department, finding officers often escalated instead of de-escalating tense situations, but says this case likely left little choice for intervention.
"It sounds like it could be suicide by cop," Del Carmen said. “We teach police officers to de-escalate. We teach police officers that just because they can, it doesn’t mean that they should.”
Bryant says it’s been tough to even be in the home her son was killed in. Blood still stains her front door.
“I tried to sleep in my room, but I wasn’t able to sleep so I went in his room, and I was able to fall asleep," she said.
She doesn’t fault the police but wishes her son could’ve gotten the help he needed.
“I just wish my son would’ve took heed and allowed us to help him," she said. “He was tired of living.”
Other local news: