Wanted man fatally shot by Fort Worth PD, cops say he fired handgun

FORT WORTH, Texas - Fort Worth police say the armed man they fatally shot Sunday trying to serve an arrest warrant fired his handgun.

Community activists and loved ones identified him as 20-year-old Jaquavion Slaton. Police say they were trying to break the glass of the pickup truck he was hiding in when he made a move and three officers fired, killing him.

Police say officers got a disturbance call Sunday afternoon involving a person with a felony warrant. Community leaders say Slaton had three warrants out for his arrest out of Smith County.

Fort Worth police say during a search of a neighborhood, they spotted Slaton getting into a car with two other people. Officers initiated a traffic stop, but they say Slaton took off running while holding a handgun. When officers found Slaton, they say he was hiding inside of a parked pickup truck.

Police say they gave Slaton numerous verbal commands, but he did not comply with any of them. They say officers tried to break the glass of the pickup to get a better view of Slaton, and police say “he made an overt action placing the officers in fear for their lives.”

Three officers fired their weapons, killing Slaton. Police add they recovered a handgun that Slaton fired.

Pastor Kyev Tatum open his church doors to a community he says is grieving after losing one of their own.

“Whether you think because he ran from the police or not was justified, the question is did he deserve to lose his life?” Tatum said.

Slaton’s girlfriend, Rayaa Shaterieaa, struggled to find the words to talk about what happened Sunday night. She identified herself as the female driver of the car.

“They pulled my car over,” she recalled. “They put the cuffs on me and put me in the back of the car.”

Police say Shaterieaa cooperated with investigators and answered their questions. Police say Shaterieaa, Slaton and 17-year-old Jevon Monroe ran off. Monroe was located by a police helicopter and taken into custody on an arrest warrant out of Louisiana for burglary and for evading arrest.

The warrant for Slaton’s arrest was issued in Smith County by the UT Tyler Police Department for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The college had put out an alert about him saying to consider him to be armed and dangerous.

Even with the added account from Fort Worth police, Tatum says there are many details that are still unclear.

“The only thing we know is that a young man has lost his life,” the pastor said.

Tatum is calling for people to show up to the city council meeting Tuesday night.