Texas police officer charged in Jonathan Price’s shooting death fired

WOLFE CITY, Texas — A Texas police officer charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a 31-year-old Black man has been fired for violating city and department policies, authorities said.

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Wolfe City officer Shaun David Lucas was “terminated for his egregious violation of the city’s and police department’s policies,” according to a statement from Wolfe City officials.

“We also ask that you remember our City employees, many of whom worked with both Mr. Price and Mr. Lucas as we eventually begin the work of healing our town and the community at large,” the release said.

Lucas is accused of fatally shooting Jonathan Price on Saturday. He was arrested by the Texas Rangers and charged with murder. The shooting occurred after police responded to reports of a fight at a gas station, WFAA reported.

According to S. Lee Merritt, the attorney for Price’s family, Price was intervening in a domestic dispute and was not violent before Lucas shot him, CNN reported.

Robert Rogers, the attorney representing Lucas, said Price “did not claim to be an uninvolved, innocent party” before Lucas attempted to detain him.

According to a report by the Texas Rangers, Price “resisted in a non-threatening posture” and began walking away when Lucas attempted to detain him on Saturday, KDFW reported. Lucas used his Taser on Price and then shot him with his gun, the Texas Rangers said. Price was taken to an area hospital, where he died, the television station reported.

“The preliminary investigation indicates that the actions of Officer Lucas were not objectionably reasonable,” the Texas Rangers said. “The Texas Rangers have charged Officer Lucas with the offense of murder and booked him into the Hunt County Jail.”

According to a probable cause affidavit, the interaction between Lucas and Price was recorded by a police body camera, but that video has not been released, The New York Times reported.

Cox Media Group