A Texas police officer accused of firing fatally at a 31-year-old man on Saturday night has been arrested on murder charges, the Texas Public Safety Department said Monday night.
The state agency said Wolfe City police officer Shawn Lucas did not take reasonable action in the encounter that killed 31-year-old Jonathan Price, a former Hardin-Simmons University footballer.
Price’s family said a fight broke out between a man and a woman at a gas station before the shooting.
The department said Lucas responded to a disturbing call about a possible fight in progress around 8:24 p.m. and contacted Price. According to the DPS, Lucas “tried to restrain the price, which resisted in a risk-free posture and started walking from there.”
Lucas used a taser stun gun at the prize, “then discharging the prices of his service weapon strikes,” the department said. Price was taken to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
The Texas DPSA said in a statement that preliminary investigations indicate that Officer Lucas’ actions were not offensively justified. He was charged with murder by the Texas Rangers.
Lee Merritt, an attorney for Price’s family, said the incident began when Price saw a man attacking a woman at a gas station.
“I was told when the police arrived, they shook hands and tried to explain what was happening,” Merritt said in an Instagram post on Sunday. “Police fired at the harasser and when his body was electrocuted, they understood the ‘threat’ and shot him dead.”
Merritt said in a statement on the platform that Monday’s arrest should be made as soon as possible. “This is the first step. Let’s see it through justice,” Merritt wrote.
It was not immediately clear if Lucas had an attorney who could speak on his behalf late Monday night.
The officer involved in the shooting was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the Texas Rangers, Wolfe City said in a statement Sunday.
The shooting took place at a gas station in Wolfe City, a town about 1,500 and 60 miles north of Dallas.
The Wolf City Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday night.
