Wounded officer wearing mask, no vest, police now say
By Peyton D. Woodson and Deanna Boyd
Star-Telegram Staff Writers

FORT WORTH - Police today revised their account of how an undercover officer was shot Thursday night, saying the officer was wearing a hooded mask and brandishing a gun when she entered a convenience store and was wounded.

Officials also said the officer was not wearing a bullet-proof vest as initially reported.


The wounded officer, who was in critical condition today with a gunshot wounded in the left armpit, was leading other officers into the store at New York and Elmwood avenues to arrest a man who police say had sold undercover officers drugs outside the store.


"Initial reports indicated the undercover officers were not wearing hoods normally used to conceal their identity," according to a statement released by Lt. Jesse Hernandez, a police spokesman.


"Follow up investigation reveals that the injured officer was wearing a concealment hood and had her gun drawn at the time she entered the store. She was also wearing a raid jacket with an embroidered badge and patch that identified her as a police officer."


The 28-year-old son of the store owner opened fire on the officer, wounding her once. He was later questioned by police and released.


"According to his statement, he saw the ski mask and the gun in the officer's hand. He thought they were being robbed so he fired the shot. When the other officers entered the store, he realized they were police officers."


Police did not release the officer's name because she was working undercover, but an official source confirmed her identity on the condition that her name not be published. Records show that the 40-year-old officer joined the police department in 1995 and was assigned to the street narcotics division.


Police said the shooting occurred about 5:20 p.m. at the E Z Food Store, 968 Elmwood Ave., in the Morningside neighborhood, shortly after four officers made an undercover drug buy inside the store.


The officers then went outside and prepared to go back in to make an arrest, Hernandez said.


"As the officers were going in, someone inside the store fired at the officers, striking one," he said.


One witness, Lesa Anderson, said she was walking near the store when she heard police yelling, `Get down! Don't move!' "


Seconds later, she said, "A lady undercover officer with a mask ran into the store. ... She got shot."


Deputy Police Chief C. Cook had said Thursday night that the officer was not wearing a mask.


"She was wearing a plainly designated police vest and her badge," he said. "There was nothing on her head."


Anderson said the store is run by a couple and their son.


"They're very nice people," she said. "There's never been any problems at the store."


Omar Elhamad, landlord of the property, said a Vietnamese man, his wife and their son had operated the store for a couple of years. On Sundays, he said, the family opened late so they could attend church.


Elhamad bought the property in 1983 and ran the store for about two years before selling the business.


He praised the police department's continued efforts to keep the neighborhood clean of drugs.


"They're protecting us," Elhamad said. "Otherwise, nobody would be going to the store or buying anything. They'd be afraid. I always tell my tenants, you have to work with the police. There's an advantage to working with the police."


Staff writer Bill Teeter and NBC 5 contributed to this report.

Great strategy.[>:/]
She may pull through, I hope.
But what a dumb ass thing to happen.

They interviewed the fella who shot her.  He stated that she did not announce herself as "Police" - she didn't say anything - she just came running through the door wearing all black with an eye-slit hood, carrying a weapon.

Not a good move.  And to NOT be wearing her vest?  For shame.

I wish her a speedy recovery.  I hope this will be a lessoned learned - not the fatal one.

Now the kid's going to be feeling like shit for the rest of his life that he damned near killed a COP, when it was the effing COP'S FAULT.

She-it.  When is this crap going to end?  Surprise and preponderance of force are necessary to effect an arrest in a drug-related case, but to just sit there AND LIE?!?!

There should be other officers there to get the arrest, and the CI or UC officer should be the hell away from the scene!  Where the hell is MEDCOP when we need him?

MEDCOP?  [size=5]MEDCOP?!?![/size=5]

She didn't verbally identify herself, according to the store employee.

And like Imbro said, if they didn't have a tape, they probably wouldn't have changed the story...sad.

Let's see, I just sold some derelict drugs and he walks in my store with a gun, what would I do?  [rolleyes]