Lawyers for a Fort Worth police officer claim the 2016 incident is responsible for the latest arrest

FORT WORTH, Texas – The Fort Worth police officer arrested after an off-duty shooting said he was doing his duty when he pursued a motorist who hit his car.

Fort Worth police arrested Officer William Martin on Friday and charged him with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Martin was leaving work in his Honda Accord on September 3rd when he said he was hit by a Ford F-150.

He then followed the driver while he called 911.

In an affidavit provided to FOX 4 by his legal team, Martin claims he eventually cornered the driver and the truck entered his car.

He said he got out of his vehicle, pointed his gun at the truck and ordered the driver to get out.

When he heard the truck's engine roar and move forward, he opened fire.

“I am convinced then and now that the driver would have run me over if I had not defended myself,” Martin wrote in his affidavit.

Although Martin says he wanted to identify himself as a police officer, his statement does not indicate whether he ever did so.

The driver of the truck, later identified as Samuel Christopher, was hit several times but survived.

Christopher's attorneys told FOX 4 that he was “unarmed” and is cooperating with law enforcement in the investigation.

Martin's lawyers also say their client is cooperating with the police investigation, but his past is hindering the investigation.

“After it was leaked to the media (by whom?) that the events of September 3, 2024 involved the same officer involved in the 'Jackie Craig' case, we believe that Officer Martin's arrest was a foregone conclusion, regardless of the objective facts of September 3, 2024,” wrote P. Michael Schneider, Martin's attorney.

Martin was released on bail following his arrest on Friday.

He is currently on special duty with the Fort Worth Police Department until the internal investigations agency has investigated the incident.

Arrest of Jacqueline Craig

Martin, who has worked for the Fort Worth Police Department for 19 years, was suspended for 10 days in 2016 for a high-profile arrest.

Jacqueline Craig and her daughter complained that Martin used excessive force against them after Craig called the police to complain about their neighbor.

A video showed Martin wrestling Craig and one of her daughters to the ground. The incident was posted online and attracted national attention.

The Craig family sued Martin, arguing that the force used during the arrest was unconstitutional and excessive. However, a panel of judges from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Martin's favor and overturned a district court's decision.

Craig's family later reached a settlement with the city for $150,000.

Martin appealed the suspension, but his appeal was rejected.