Arlington police have released the body cam video of the police officer shooting at the barking dog that came running towards him, only to shoot the dog’s owner who died.
The victim is Margarita “Maggie” Brooks, a 30-year-old homeless woman who is the daughter of an Arlington fire captain.
The dog that spooked an Arlington police officer into drawing his pistol and opening fire, killing the dog’s homeless owner is described as a “lab/beagle mix” weighing no more than 40 pounds.
The dog was not aggressive, said Larry Hamilton, who knew the victim and often petted her dog outside the Walmart where she, her dog and her boyfriend were frequently seen sitting underneath a tree, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
But the Arlington police officer said the dog made him fear for his life after it came after him, barking and charging, forcing him to retreat backwards as he fired his gun, striking Margarita Brooks, the 30-year-homeless woman who was known to the people working in the area as somebody who caused no trouble.
“She was real loving to her dog,” said Hamilton, adding that the dog was her “soul.”
Others in the area agreed the dog was not aggressive.
Robert Baxter, a sales manager at a Cadillac dealership next to the Walmart, said the woman and a man would often walk along the side of the supermarket with the dog and one bicycle. He said the dog looked like a beagle. The couple would be mindful of the dog, trying to keep it out of the road, he said.
Staff at the Don Davis used car dealership said a brown dog — 40 pounds at most — ran into a garage around 6 p.m. after the shooting. Dario Torres, a car transporter, said the dog looked scared until a man came over and calmed it down.
The incident took place Thursday after somebody called police to report that a woman was lying unconscious on the grass but it appears as if she was just sleeping because she woke up after she was shot, saying she had been injured.
Brooks was the daughter of an Arlington fire captain, according to WFAA. The cop’s name has not been released.
