Texas PD releases bodycam video after stopping machete-wielding man who ran over woman

Officers were provided with details from the 911 calls about the man’s possible mental health crisis, including that he had a knife

January 13, 2023 09:19 AM

By James Hartley
Fort Worth Star-Telegram

FORT WORTH, Texas — Body-camera footage released Thursday by the Fort Worth Police Department shows a man shot and killed by officers Jan. 7 brandishing a machete and charging at the officers as they were preparing to use a Taser on him, according to Police Chief Neil Noakes.

Robert Bradshaw, 37, died at his mother’s house in the 3500 block of Wedgworth Road South, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office.

The officers were at the house because a woman called 911 about 5:45 p.m. to report that her son, Bradshaw, was there and possibly armed with a knife, Fort Worth police said.

In 911 audio included in the video with bodycam footage, the woman who called 911 tells dispatchers she believes Bradshaw is having a mental health crisis and could be a danger to her and other family members. She repeated multiple times that she needed someone to come and provide mental health assistance and an evaluation.

“I really need some help,” she told 911 dispatchers. “I need mental health help.”

Responding officers were provided with details from the 911 calls about Bradshaw’s possible mental health crisis, including that he had a knife. Officers ordered him multiple times to drop the knife before one officer told the other to “get your Taser,” the video shows.

Noakes said, in a video statement included with the footage, that as the officer was attempting to pull his Taser, Bradshaw charged at them while still holding the machete, causing both officers to fear for their lives. They both fired at Bradshaw with their handguns, striking him and killing him.

Noakes said Bradshaw had arrived at the house after he pushed a woman out of his car in the 7600 block of Osbun Street, then accelerated and rammed her with the car as she was running away. Bradshaw had not yet been identified as the suspect in the hit-and-run when officers arrived in the 3500 block of Wedgworth Road.

Bradshaw fled the scene after striking the woman with his car, according to police. Police dispatchers received multiple 911 calls about the incident. The woman, who has not been identified, was seriously injured, according to Noakes.