A Fort Worth police officer who appeared to violently arrest a woman on video has been fired after an investigation found he used unjustified force and violated departmental policy during the arrest, the Fort Worth Police Department announced Wednesday.
Police say officer Matthew Kruger was responding to a collision involving a suspected drunk driver when an unrelated woman began recording on her cell phone. Local activist Carolyn Rodriguez was livestreaming the incident before being approached and arrested by Krueger.
In the video, Krueger can be heard telling Rodriguez to move across the street. After she asked police why she needed to move, Krueger told her she was being arrested and moved in. The next moments are obscured, but an officer can be heard saying “she’s bleeding” before the video ends.
Police said Rodriguez suffered injuries during the arrest that required medical care before being booked into jail and charged with interference with public duties, resisting arrest, evading arrest and making a false alarm or report. The department said it began an “immediate and congruent investigation” following the incident, which led to Krueger’s termination.
Krueger, who was with the department for nearly eight years, could not be reached for comment. The Fort Worth Police Officers Association did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday afternoon.
Although a voice on the video can be heard telling her to “stop resisting,” Rodriguez said she was knocked out during the incident and woke up in the hospital. Images of her from that time show her with a badly bruised face.
Rodriguez was later found guilty on charges of interference with public duties and sentenced to 30 days in jail with a $750 fine. On Tuesday, a judge suspended her sentence and placed her on community supervision for 15 months, according to court records.
In an interview, Rodriguez told KERA News she was scared for her life during the incident.
“Your body is dying, but the brain was trying to keep it alive,” Rodriguez said.
“I think I could’ve died if I had been more frail.”
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