The Fort Worth Police Department has released footage revealing the tense moments leading up to an officer shooting a robbery suspect, who allegedly attempted to grab the officer's gun during a confrontation. On Jan. 7, officers responded to a robbery at a 24-hour vape shop, where Walker Cadd, 37, was caught on store surveillance camera armed with a crowbar. Despite the cold, the video shows Cadd using the crowbar to smash displays and gather items into his box, contributing to a string of recent burglaries in the area, as reported by FOX 4 News.
Officers responding to the clerk's 911 call spotted the suspect, still clothed in black, fleeing through a field behind the shopping center. Cadd was later discovered by the pursuing officers, hiding in a backyard shed on Fargo Court. Ordering Cadd to show his hands, which he brazenly refused, an officer drew his weapon. "The officer warned Cadd multiple times that he would shoot him," stated Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes. However, Cadd, instead of complying, kept advancing directly toward the officer, according to details released by the WFAA.
In a fateful encounter captured on bodycam footage, the officer, a 21-year veteran of the department, was seen trying to restrain Cadd to prevent his escape. Cadd, turning towards the officer, grabbed the officer’s gun, which compelled the officer to discharge two shots, striking Cadd in the leg. "Based on the information we have from interviews so far, that’s when Mr. Cadd reached for the officer’s gun," Noakes told reporters, implying the gravity of disarming a police officer in the field, as per FOX 4 News.
After receiving a gunshot wound to his leg, Cadd received medical treatment before being charged with theft and attempting to take an officer's weapon. Describing the dangerous setting, with the darkness and isolation amping the tension, Noakes explained, "It’s dark. It’s in the middle of the night and the officer’s by himself. He’s trying to make the best decisions he can," highlighting the perilous nature of such night-time operations. The discarded crowbar was later found in the field, but knowledge of it evaded the officer at the time, per FOX 4 News.
Recovering from his injuries, Cadd now faces the legal repercussions of that January night. The police department has placed the officer on leave for routine evaluation following the shooting, as per department protocol after an officer-involved shooting. Chief Noakes maintained support for his officer's actions given the uncertainty surrounding whether Cadd possessed the crowbar or another weapon at the moment.
