The city agreed to pay the estate of Andre Brown $250,000 after he was killed by a police unit engaged in a chase.
FORT WORTH, Texas — The city of Fort Worth Tuesday agreed to pay $250,000 to the family of a bystander killed as Fort Worth police pursued a stolen vehicle.
Andra Craig, 57, was killed in July 2024 after a Fort Worth police vehicle collided with his car at the intersection of Evans and Rosedale in South Fort Worth, WFAA previously reported.
Craig’s father filed a lawsuit against the city of Fort Worth, alleging negligence and wrongful death in connection with the crash, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram previously reported.
Fort Worth police were pursuing an allegedly stolen vehicle after the department’s Directed Response Unit attempted to stop a stolen vehicle before the driver sped off. Officers continued pursuing the stolen vehicle northbound through the intersection of Rosedale Street and Evans Avenue when they struck Craig’s car, WFAA previously reported.
Craig was ejected from his vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene.
The vehicle police were pursuing came to a stop a block away from the crash, police said. The two suspects tried to run from the scene but were both taken into custody, police said.
“He was at the wrong place at the wrong time. And I really think they should acknowledge that,” said Jennifer O’Bryant, Craig’s sister, said shortly after the crash.
A Tarrant County jury declined to bring criminal charges against the officer who crashed into Craig, KERA News reported. The driver of the allegedly stolen vehicle, 19-year-old Brian Hunter, is charged with evading arrest with a vehicle causing death, KERA News reported.
The settlement was unanimously approved, and the city continues to deny any liability in the matter, according to a mayor and council communication.
Craig’s death and the death of 15-year-old Samaria Ezell, prompted the victim’s family and several media organizations to submit open records requests to obtain the department’s police pursuit policy. The department initially refused to release the policy, citing safety concerns. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton later ruled that Fort Worth police should release their pursuit policy.
The department later released portions of the policy, which lays out when and how officers are instructed to pursue a fleeing vehicle.