A Texas Police Officer Trying To Shoot A Loose Dog Killed A Woman Instead

"Clearly this is not the outcome that the officer wanted, nor the outcome the department wanted," the Arlington police chief said.

A Texas police officer confronted by a loose dog pulled out his gun and opened fire Thursday, missing the animal and striking a woman standing nearby, killing her.

Footage from a bodycam released Friday by the Arlington Police Department showed the officer approaching the woman on a sidewalk before the shooting.

"Hello. Are you OK?" the officer asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine," the woman replies.

A dog then approaches, and the 25-year-old officer asks, "Is that your dog? Can you get him..."

In the video, the officer is seen stepping backward, pulling out his handgun, and firing three shots toward the dog.

"What the fuck?" the woman, who appears to be standing several feet away, is heard screaming. "Oh my god!"

The woman, who was identified as 30-year-old Margarita Victoria Brooks, was transported to a nearby hospital, where she died of a gunshot wound to the chest. The dog was taken to a shelter and appeared to have suffered a grazing bullet wound.

The officer, firefighters, and paramedics had initially been called to the scene after a report of a woman lying on the grass, police officials said.

The officer, who was not identified Friday, joined the department in 2012 and had completed field training in July, said Arlington Police Chief Will Johnson.

"Ms. Brooks was not the target of the officer's use of force," the police chief said. "That said, we know as police officers we are accountable for our actions and that our actions are subject to thorough review and analysis."

According to the Dallas Morning News, Brooks was the daughter of an Arlington fire captain and frequented a shopping center in the area.

"Our hearts are broken for the Brooks family and the officer involved," Johnson said at a press conference. "Clearly this is not the outcome that the officer wanted, nor the outcome the department wanted."

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Via youtube.com

On Friday evening, police released bodycam footage of the incident, hoping to dispel misinformation about the incident, Johnson said.

The officer was placed on paid administrative leave. The Police Department is conducting an internal investigation of the shooting, and the district attorney's office is reviewing the incident to see if the officer's actions were in accordance with the law.

Asked if he would consider the shooting an accident, Johnson said it would be presumptuous to offer any judgment before the investigations were completed.

"There is no good information that we've shared today," he said.

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