Fort Worth police officer fired for 2nd time after coworker reports excessive use of force

A Fort Worth police officer has been fired from the department for the second time and may face criminal charges after a fellow officer reported concerns about his actions in January while arresting a man for public intoxication, according to a news release from police.

Mitchell Miller, hired by the department in 2017, was accused of shoving the man to the ground when he turned toward Miller as Miller escorted him toward the jail entrance, according to the release. The arrested person fell face first onto the concrete with his hands cuffed behind his back, causing him to hit his head and lose consciousness.

Police said Miller failed to report his use of force, then lied to his supervisor when she directly asked him if he used force.

The report about his actions filed by another Fort Worth police officer led to an internal affairs administrative investigation, according to police. Miller was placed on restricted duty and stripped of all police powers during the investigation, in which it was determined he used excessive force and was “untruthful in the reporting of this incident.”

Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes made the decision to fire him Thursday and is forwarding the case to the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office for review.

Miller, who was assigned to the patrol division, was previously disciplined for violating several general orders during contact with a prisoner. He and four other officers were fired in January 2019 after a man died in the back of a police vehicle in July 2018, but in February 2020 Miller won an appeal and was reinstated to the patrol division. At that time, Miller reached a settlement with the city and accepted a 15-day suspension.

“His continued failure to adhere to the high standards that every Fort Worth police officer is expected to maintain during all interactions with members of the public necessitated the Chief’s decision to terminate Miller’s employment,” police said in Friday’s news release.

In the 2018 incident, Christopher Lowe, 55, died after he repeatedly told officers he was dying and could not breathe as he was taken into custody. Instead of seeking medical care, the officers ignored Lowe’s pleas and assumed he was lying in an attempt to avoid jail, according to documents provided by the police department.

A new Fort Worth police unit that went live this week will help the department better investigate use of force, a police sergeant said.

Officers received an email Monday that notified them of the creation of the Force Analysis Unit. The unit is run by five lieutenants who were previously on the midnight shift.

“The Unit’s goals are to provide consistency, in-depth analysis and ease the field review process by the Chain of Command,” according to the email, which was provided to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram by a source who was not authorized to speak to reporters.

The unit is the brainchild of Lt. Ward Robinson, who was already reviewing use of force cases.

“He saw we could improve what we were already doing by creating a new unit to capture better data,” Sgt. Amelia Heise said in an interview Wednesday. “We also received feedback from the police monitor, who asked for us to standardize use of force reporting.”

This unit will analyze any use of force that is reported.

Star-Telegram staff writer Nichole Manna contributed to this report.