Family of Woman Killed by Cop Shooting at Dog Sues Texas City

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The family of an Arlington woman killed by a police officer two years ago is suing the officer who fatally shot her along with the city.

Margarita "Maggie" Victoria Brooks, 30, was shot by Arlington Police Officer Ravinder "Ravi" Singh during a wellness check on Aug. 1, 2019. Brooks was reportedly passed out on the grass near a shopping center.

The Arlington Police released Singh's bodycam footage the day after the shooting. Singh approached the area, asking Brooks if she was alright, and then the officer started yelling "get back" when a dog begins running towards him. He pulled out his gun and fired three shots at the labrador retriever mix, one of them sticking Brooks in the chest.

The story says the dog was grazed by the bullet and unharmed. Brooks later died from her injuries at an Arlington hospital.

Troy Brooks, Maggie's father and an Arlington fire captain, filed the complaint on Thursday. The wrongful death lawsuit is seeking an excess of $1 million in damages from Singh and the City of Arlington, according to court documents.

The complaint accuses the officer of violating Brooks's Fourteenth Amendment rights, stating that Singh caused her "to suffer extreme and severe pain, agony and death."

This is such a tragic situation. Could it have been prevented? We all have the benefit of hindsight, but police officers sometimes must make split second decisions. Should the officer have shot at the dog with an individual behind the dog? That is the question, but it is a question the officer had to answer in a fraction of a second. Did he make the wrong split second decision?

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