The new Fort Worth City Hall on Nov. 14, 2024.
Amanda McCoy
amccoy@star-telegram.com
A man who was injured in a road rage shooting by an off-duty police officer has sued the city of Fort Worth and its former police chief, alleging the officer should have never been on the force after his involvement in the Jacqueline Craig viral arrest in 2016.
Samuel Christopher and his wife Mykaela, of Fort Worth, filed the lawsuit Sept. 2 in Tarrant County district court against former officer William Martin, the city and former police chief Joel Fitzgerald.
Christopher alleges Martin violated his civil rights, claims the city is liable for the department’s policy that caused his injury and accuses Fitzgerald of “deliberate indifference” that resulted in the 2024 shooting. Christopher and his wife are seeking damages against Martin for “mental anguish,” the loss of family relationships, and the loss of “household services.”
Martin pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in May, following the September 2024 shooting on Interstate 35W.
Martin called 911 to report that someone had hit his personal vehicle. He followed Christopher’s truck for several minutes before firing his gun multiple times. Christopher, who was unarmed, was struck in his left arm, the bullet narrowly missing his spine.
Martin was arrested and fired from the department after an Internal Affairs investigation found that his level of force during the shooting was unjustified.
2016 Jacqueline Craig viral arrest
In 2016, Martin was suspended from the department after his violent arrest of Jacqueline Craig drew nationwide attention. A Facebook livestream of the arrest went viral. Body-camera video of the incident showed Martin wrestling Craig to the ground after she called police during a dispute with a neighbor.
Fitzgerald suspended Martin for 10 days without pay following an Internal Affairs investigation. The city paid Craig $150,000 to settle a lawsuit.
Two officers who conducted the internal investigation into Martin’s use of force sued the city for violating the Whistleblower Act, alleging they were retaliated against for recommending to Fitzgerald that Martin be fired.
The Texas Supreme Court ruled in favor of the city in that case, determining the Whistleblower Act did not protect the officers.
New lawsuit alleging city was ‘deliberately indifferent’
During a meeting regarding the Jacqueline Craig investigation, according to the lawsuit, Fitzgerald asked former Assistant Chief Abdul Pridgen and former Deputy Chief Vance Keyes — the officers who sued the department in 2017 — for their opinions on how to discipline Martin.
“You don’t want to know my opinion,” Pridgen told Fitzgerald, according to the lawsuit.
Pridgen told Fitzgerald that his recommendation was to fire Martin because he made a false arrest, lied in his affidavit, and used excessive force.
“You’re right,” Fitzgerald replied. “I don’t want to know what you’re thinking.”
Martin and Fitzgerald have not been served with the lawsuit, according to Stephen Kotara of Arlington, one of the attorneys representing Christopher’s family.
Martin is due in court in December for his sentencing related to the 2024 road rage incident.
The lawsuit also alleges that the city of Fort Worth and the police department have declined to provide internal records related to the investigation and Martin’s employment records.
“Our message is that this is not just about Officer Martin,” Kotara said.. “It’s about why he was still a Fort Worth police officer with a badge, a gun, after the city’s own investigators had concluded that he should be fired.”
Fitzgerald was fired from the city of Fort Worth in 2019. The city approved a $9.6 million settlement with him and two former IT workers who sued alleging their firings were retaliation for whistleblowing.
Fitzgerald could not be reached for comment. He now works as an assistant city manager in East Point, Georgia.
Martin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A spokesperson for the city of Fort Worth said that the city denies the allegations in the lawsuit, but declined to comment further citing pending litigation.
A spokesperson for the police department declined to comment.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Emily Holshouser is a local news reporter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.