Fort Worth police officer fired and was arrested after investigating an off-duty shooting on the highway

A Fort Worth police officer who shot a man while off-duty last month was fired Friday following an internal investigation, police said in a news release.

Former officer William Martin was involved in a shooting while off-duty on September 3rd. According to police and an affidavit from Martin’s attorney, Martin was driving home from work on Interstate 35W around 4 p.m. when his car was struck by a pickup truck that failed to stop.

Martin then called 911 to report the hit-and-run accident and said he followed the truck in his car. He told the dispatcher that he fired his gun after the truck tried to ram him.

The driver of the truck was hit by multiple bullets and taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

Following the incident, Martin was placed on restricted duty and arrested on September 20. He was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to police.

Fort Worth police said Friday that Martin was fired following the completion of an administrative investigation into the incident, which determined the force used by Martin during the encounter was unjustified.

The release said Fort Worth police will hold officers accountable for misconduct.

“Our department will continue to hold accountable employees who do not meet the standards expected of a Fort Worth police officer, and in doing so we will continue to be transparent and open with our community,” the release said.

Martin had been with the department for 19 years before his firing.

Martin’s attorney, Mike Schneider, could not be reached for comment Friday but previously said Martin’s actions were “fully consistent” with a peace officer’s duties under Texas law.

Schneider also said he believed Martin’s arrest was an “out of the question decision” for political reasons, as many had called for his arrest after it was discovered that Martin was the same officer involved in a controversial arrest in 2016 that went viral went.

In this case, a woman named Jacqueline Craig called the police on December 21, 2016 and reported that her neighbor had suffocated her son. Martin responded and argued with Craig and their two daughters before arresting them.

The arrest was captured on video, which shows Martin pushing the women to the ground and detaining them.

Craig and her daughters were initially charged with interfering with public duty, resisting arrest and failure to produce identification, but the charges were later dropped. Craig, who is black, accused Martin, who is white, of engaging in racist behavior and using excessive force.

The Craig family sued Fort Worth, Martin and their neighbor. Martin was dropped from the lawsuit after it was ruled he had qualified immunity, and the Craig family later received $150,000 in a settlement with the city, according to KXAS-TV (NBC5). Craig died in 2023.