A Fort Worth police officer shot and killed a man who charged at the officer with a broken bottle that he previously used to cut his own neck while hanging from an overpass, according to body camera footage released Monday.
A man identified as Jose Lara, 38, can be seen in the video first sitting on the overpass at U.S. 287 near East Maddox Avenue Thursday afternoon. Then he's seen leaning off the side of the overpass as an officer approached.
The unidentified officer can be heard telling Lara to stop cutting his throat before Lara began running at the officer with the broken bottle in hand. The officer opened fire and shot Lara three times around 4:05 p.m.
Officers gave medical aid, but Lara was pronounced dead at about 4:30 p.m., according to Fort Wort police Chief Eddie Garcia.
“My heart goes out to this individual’s family as they process this tragic loss,” Garcia said. “I also want to acknowledge and recognize my officer involved who was forced to make a difficult decision and will now carry the weight of this traumatic incident.”
Garcia said it’s not yet clear what motivated Lara.
“This individual was obviously going through some type of mental crisis,” he said. “How he got there, we don't know.”
Lara did not have a history of mental health incidents, but Garcia said the department does have information that may point to his motivations. The chief did not reveal that information to the press Monday.
The officer involved is a 6-year veteran assigned to central patrol. He has been placed on leave, as is protocol after a shooting.
It was the second police shooting in two days in North Texas. A day earlier, Dallas police shot and killed an armed man suspected of falsely identifying himself as a federal agent, after about two hours of negotiations.
Dylan Duke is KERA's Breaking News Reporter. Got a tip? Email Dylan Duke at dduke@kera.org.
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