While putting his arm through the car window may not have been a smart move, the officer had good reason to fear for his life when he was dragged along by a driver suspected of drug trafficking. In my opinion that justified the use of deadly force. The officer even risked his life more by making sure his gunfire would not hit any passengers inside the vehicle. But in the eyes of blacks, he was a white cop needlessly and unlawfully killing one of their own.
FORT WORTH CHIEF MEETS WITH BLACK LEADERS AFTER SHOOTING
By Deanna Boyd and Mitch Mitchell
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
March 2, 2011
FORT WORTH -- As emotions swelled in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of a handicapped black father by a white police officer, Police Chief Jeff Halstead met with church leaders Wednesday to talk about the treatment of blacks by Fort Worth police.
"We understand that tensions are running high in the community, and before it gets completely out of control, we want to make sure that the police know that people in this community deserve fair treatment," said Luther Perry, a founder of Ministers Against Crime.
Also Wednesday, police released more details about the death of Charal "RaRa" Thomas, 32, who was shot Monday night by officer J. Romer during a traffic stop in far east Fort Worth.
Thomas refused to get out of his Ford Expedition and locked the doors. When Romer reached through a partially opened window to unlock the driver's door, Thomas rolled up his window, trapping the officer's arm, police have said.
Thomas then drove forward, dragging Romer, who eventually hopped onto the SUV's running board, pulled his weapon and fired 12 shots at Thomas, police said Wednesday. An adult passenger and three of Thomas' children were also in the SUV.
Thomas lost a leg when he was 12 after he was wounded by a shotgun blast, relatives said.
Police Lt. Paul Henderson, a department spokesman, said officers are not trained to reach through an open window to try to unlock a door as a means of getting a driver out of a vehicle. It was a decision, "good or bad," that the officer made in a split-second. "His intention was to separate the driver from the kids," Henderson said. "No one was any more surprised than he was when the driver rolled the window up on his arm."
Henderson said the department would review the case from all aspects, from a tactical standpoint to procedures and policies, "to see if we can do something better."
‘PHYSICALLY TRAPPED’
According to Henderson, Romer was driving a transport van when he pulled over Thomas at the request of undercover officers who had been conducting surveillance on Thomas for suspected drug trafficking.
The undercover officers were unaware that three children were in the back seat, he said.
Romer found that Thomas was wanted on warrants out of Dalworthington Gardens.
"The officer told him, 'You need to get out of the vehicle because you have warrants for your arrest.' That's when the driver told him, 'I'm not going to jail,'" Henderson said.
First, according to Henderson, Romer reached for the door handle, but Thomas pushed the automatic locks. The officer had begun to reach through the window to unlock the door when Thomas rolled up the window and began to drive forward.
"He's physically trapped," Henderson said. "He can't pull his arm out because his watch is preventing him from getting his arm out."
The officer repeatedly yelled at the driver to stop, he said.
Romer eventually pulled his feet onto the SUV's running board, grabbed the car's luggage rack with his right hand and yanked his left arm out of the window. Now traveling toward Loop 820 at what the officer estimated to be 30 to 40 mph, Romer drew his semiautomatic weapon, pointed it at a downward angle at the driver to avoid putting passengers in the line of fire, and fired, Henderson said.
POLICE INVESTIGATION
The male passenger jumped out of the SUV, rolling into a nearby lawn where he was arrested on outstanding warrants.
The officer also jumped from the SUV as it slowed, getting lacerations and bruises in addition to his arm injuries.
Police investigators will determine the facts of the case and hand it over to the Tarrant County district attorney's office, which will present it as a homicide to a grand jury, Henderson said.
"It's up to the grand jury to determine, based on all the facts, whether or not to indict the officer," he said.
Henderson said Romer, who has been with Fort Worth police for two years and with another police department before that for six years, is distraught and is taking time off.
"We are very, very sensitive to what the three kids have witnessed," Henderson said. "That is a very traumatic incident they're going to have to live with for the rest of their lives, as well as everyone involved. Our thoughts are with the kids and the family because the last thing we want is for those three children, or anyone, to grow up with that image in their mind -- that their mother or dad was killed by a police officer in uniform."
‘OCCUPYING FORCE’
At a gathering Wednesday night at a Stop Six church, Robert Pope of Fort Worth said the police are "an occupying force" in the community and their presence "triggers fear" among those who are pulled over.
Bennie Lathen, who said she is a lifelong resident of Stop Six, said she is fearful of the police, even when she knows she has done nothing wrong.
"I don't care what you say -- your word means nothing next to their word," she said.
Terrence Swanson, who came from Dallas for the rally, said the people in Fort Worth have to put a little more pressure on the police establishment before the entire truth concerning the shooting is revealed.
"We are in a good position right now," he said. "There's going to be a new mayor in Fort Worth. We need to find out the names of the police supervisors and training officers and City Council representatives so that after the facts are gathered, we can hand this to them fresh off the stove.
"We must let them know that they need to police our community the same way they police the people on the hill."
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