Arlington Police Chief Al Jones acted swiftly when one of his officers unnecessarily used deadly force and killed a man who evaded arrest and then pointed his vehicle at an officer.
Jones fired Officer Robert Phillips, a seven-year veteran of the force, declaring that the body- and dashboard-camera videos clearly showed a violation of department policy.
It was the right call, but we still need answers about the interaction with Jesse Fischer of Addison. Phillips should face criminal charges.
Jones avoided drawing out the department’s administrative decision, for which he deserves credit. Some will call the decision rash, but Jones summed it up clearly: “The facts as we know them today are not going to change. They’re not going to change today, they’re not going to change tomorrow, they’re not going to change six months from now.”
An Arlington police spokesman says a criminal investigation is ongoing. The case will be sent to Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson, whose office will probably present it to a grand jury.
It takes a lot to charge and prosecute a police officer, and it should. Their jobs are not easy, and their lives are constantly on the line. Breaking down their actions frame by frame sometimes distorts situations in which they must use split-second judgment.
And an approaching vehicle can be a true threat. Officers have been hurt and killed when escaping suspects hit the gas with disregard for life.
After officers pulled Fischer over and he drove away, police chased him into a cul-de-sac near South Collins Street. Phillips’ body-cam video shows he began firing almost as soon as he emerged from his vehicle. As Jones noted, he could have gotten back in his car or gone behind it. Officers could have blocked the cul-de-sac and waited Fischer out.
Fischer was initially approached last Wednesday when a caller reported seeing Fischer slumped over in his vehicle stopped in the middle of Pioneer Parkway. An officer asked him to open the door so emergency responders could examine him, the released footage shows, but he restarted his Jeep and pulled away.
Fischer had ample opportunity to surrender. He could have opened the car door to begin with or given up when police pulled him over. He made bad decisions to continue driving and, once in the cul-de-sac, to try to escape. The best way of minimizing the chance of harm in such a situation is to comply with every order an officer gives.
None of that, of course, justifies the shooting.
It seems likely that Fischer was impaired in some way, but Susan McClelland, an attorney for his family, took issue with initial reports that he was intoxicated and noted that blood work hasn’t been finished. She said his parents believe that Fischer may have experienced a low blood sugar issue.
“He was prone to having sugar crises,” said McClelland, a senior attorney at Jensen & Jensen in Arlington.
Fischer’s parents told her that he had not shown signs of aggression and that his behavior “was characteristic in that he would want to get away instead of be confrontational.
She added: “The family is not ready to say, ‘Here’s the answer to this.’ Judgment needs to be withheld on what’s going on.”
It’s odd that this police killing hasn’t gotten the attention devoted to so many other bad shootings. It’s emblematic of many of the issues under the microscope, especially dealing with suspects in distress and the need for de-escalation tactics. A more thorough airing would benefit us all.
Fischer’s parents are “not quite understanding why this sort of force was used,” McClelland said.
Arlington police, the DA’s office and the grand jury need time to do their work. But we shouldn’t let this case slip quietly from the radar, especially if it offers lessons to avoid future tragedies.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
