Fort Worth officials released body camera footage of a man shot and killed by police last week on March 12.
Police released the body camera footage during a press conference on Monday, March 16. The incident shut down U.S. 287 during rush hour.
Body camera footage shows the man, Jose Juan Lara-Gallegos, 38, dangling from an overpass in Fort Worth around 4 p.m. Officials also played audio of 911 dispatch receiving calls about Lara-Gallegos. Callers said he was hanging from the overpass and cutting himself.
A Fort Worth police officer can be seen in the video making their way toward Lara-Gallegos and instructing him to drop a sharp object that he was cutting himself with.
Lara-Gallegos began approaching the officer with the object in his hand. The officer then discharged his weapon three times. First responders conducted life-saving measures, but Lara-Gallegos was pronounced dead at the scene.
During the March 16 press conference, Fort Worth Police Department Chief Eddie Garcia said the officer who shot the man was “forced to make a difficult decision.”
“Incidents like this are tragic for all involved,” Garcia said.
The officer involved is a 6-year veteran of the department. He is now on critical incident leave, which is routine, officials said.
Watch Chief Eddie Garcia’s press conference below