ARLINGTON, Texas — A Tarrant County Grand Jury indicted a former Arlington police officer for the fatal shooting of an Addison man in October of last year.
The officer, Robert Phillips, was indicted on a charge of murder, a Tarrant County District Attorney's Office press release stated. That charge is punishable in Texas by five to 99 years or life in prison.
Phillips was fired from the Arlington Police Department two days after the incident, the release added.
In dashcam footage, Phillips is seen shooting through the windshield of Jesse Joseph Fischer's white Jeep SUV, killing the 40-year-old.
Arlington Police Chief Al Jones said he terminated Phillips' employment because he violated multiple department orders that include not shooting at a moving vehicle and only using deadly force when "protecting yourself or someone else."
The incident started after a 911 caller reported seeing a driver, Fischer, slumped over in an SUV in the middle of Pioneer Parkway. Police said the call came in as a medical emergency.
Body-worn video first shows a different Arlington police officer, who hasn't been identified, commanding Fischer to turn off his car and telling him "do not move this car" three times before Fischer drove off.
Phillips drives after Fischer, who stops again at Daniel Drive and Arkansas Lane.
At the intersection, Phillips tells Fischer - whose hands are visible hanging outside the window - more than 10 times to either throw his keys out of the car or drop his keys, which Fischer does not do. At one point in the video, Phillips can be heard saying, "This is not going to end well for you if you do not drop those keys."
Phillips also told Fischer he was "under arrest at this point."
After the two continued to exchange words and interact for a brief time, Fischer again drives away, followed by Phillips.
Fischer eventually drove to Carla Court, where the road ran into a dead end at a cul-de-sac.
At this location, police said Fischer made a U-turn and began traveling in the direction of Phillips.
The video shows Phillips stopping his car, getting out of the vehicle near his open door and pointing his gun at Fischer, who is driving his vehicle at a low speed towards Phillips' police car.
This is when the video shows Phillips shooting Fischer through the windshield multiple times. Phillips can be heard saying, "don't you do it," as he fires his weapon.
Police said the second officer arrived on the scene around the time of the gunshots and both began performing life-saving measures on the driver until paramedics arrived.
No officers were hurt, according to Arlington police. Arlington firefighters were also on the scene.
The second officer, who was not identified by police, was placed on administrative leave for witnessing the shooting, which Jones said is standard protocol.
No court date has been set at this point.