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Body camera video shows man shot by Arlington police Oct. 7 pull gun before officers opened fire

Arlington Police Chief Al Jones speaking from a podium.
James Hartley
/
KERA
Fort Worth Police Chief Al Jones said at an Oct. 24 news conference officers shot and killed a man earlier in the month after he pulled a gun on them. The man died at the hospital.

The man killed by Arlington police Oct. 7 pulled a gun, aimed at officers and fired at least once before they shot and killed him, Police Chief Al Jones said at a Thursday news conference.

The man was identified as 34-year-old Tony Coward. He was shot by officers who then attempted to administer life-saving first aid until paramedics arrived. Coward died later in the hospital.

The officers were responding to reports about a suspicious person at an apartment complex in the 1400 block of East Lamar Boulevard, just north of Interstate 30 near North Collins Street.

According to police, 911 callers said they saw a man walking around the parking lot of the apartment complex and looking inside several cars.

The call came in around 9 p.m. Oct. 7 and officers arrived around 10 minutes later. They began searching the parking lot, eventually finding Coward lying on a car.

Body camera footage released Thursday shows officers approach the man in a dark parking lot, flashlights providing the only illumination. He’s on the hood of a car when officers approach. The officers identify themselves as police and ask Coward what’s going on.

In the body camera video, Coward doesn’t immediately respond to officers. One of them says an expletive, apparently seeing the handgun in Coward’s pants, and switches off his light. He then steps behind the front of another vehicle and pulls his gun, warning a fellow officer.

“Police, hands up,” the officer shouts.

This time, Coward responds, sitting up. He looks at officers as they continue ordering him to put his hands up. When he pulls the gun from his pants, both officers appear to fire around seven or eight shots. Coward falls to the ground and officers stop firing, then the released portion of the video ends.

A still shot from body camera footage showing Tony Coward pulling a gun on Arlington police.
Courtesy Arlington Police Department
/
Courtesy
Police in Arlington said 34-year-old Tony Coward pulled a gun on officers, leading them to shoot and kill him the night of Oct. 7.

Jones said at the news conference Coward didn’t live in the apartments but had family who did. Jones said he thinks that’s why Coward was in the area.

Coward had a history of run-ins with police, according to Jones.

The police chief said Coward was charged with theft, criminal trespass and public intoxication. Court court records show he was convicted on charges including evading arrest, burglary of a habitation, unlawful carrying of a weapon and failure to identify a fugitive or intentionally giving false information.

Neither of the officers was injured. Both were placed on administrative leave following the shooting, per department policy. Criminal and administrative investigations are ongoing. Authorities will send the case to a grand jury when the investigation is complete, no matter the findings, a common department practice.

James Hartley is the Arlington Government Accountability reporter for KERA.