Death by Cop 2021-2025
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Estevan Xavier Ramirez
Age : 18
Gender : Male
Race : Latino/a/e
Date : 09/03/2021
Location : 3400 block Horne Street near Houghton Street
City : Fort Worth
County : Tarrant
State : Texas
Agency : Lake Worth Police Department
Officer(s) :Jonathan Granado
Cause of Death : Gunshot
Event : Killed by police following traffic-stop pursuit and foot chase
OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :
On 09/03/2021, 18-year-old Estevan Xavier Ramirez was shot and killed by Lake Worth Police Officer Jonathan Granado following a high-speed vehicle pursuit from Lake Worth into Fort Worth and a subsequent foot chase. Later litigation produced body-camera evidence, autopsy findings and testimony from another officer that materially contradicted Granado's account of the shooting.
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At approximately 2:06 a.m., Lake Worth Officer R. Watson attempted to stop a white Volkswagen Jetta after observing it traveling approximately 88 mph in a 65-mph zone on Interstate 820. The driver continued driving away and turned off the vehicle's lights. Granado joined Watson as a backup officer during the pursuit.
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Dispatch advised the officers that the Jetta was not stolen but had previously evaded another police agency and that its occupants were considered armed and dangerous. The pursuit traveled through Lake Worth and White Settlement into Fort Worth.
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The Jetta struck a curb after exiting Interstate 30 near Horne Street, damaging a tire. The vehicle eventually stopped in the 3400 block of Horne Street, and the people inside ran in different directions. Ramirez had been a passenger, not the pursued driver.
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Ramirez ran from the vehicle carrying a handgun. Watson pursued him on foot and ordered him to get on the ground. The later federal court record states that Ramirez dropped the gun during the encounter but immediately picked it back up. Watson briefly struggled with Ramirez before Ramirez continued running.
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Granado subsequently maintained that Ramirez was swinging the handgun in the direction of Watson and Granado as he ran and that he believed Ramirez presented an immediate deadly threat. Granado fired seven rounds.
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Evidence developed in the family's federal civil-rights lawsuit substantially disputed Granado's description of the shooting. Watson, who was closer to Ramirez, stated that Ramirez never pointed the gun toward him and never pointed it toward the officers while running away. Granado's body-camera footage likewise did not show Ramirez pointing or swinging the handgun toward either officer.
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The body-camera recording also captured Granado asking Watson immediately after the shooting, “did he have a gun?” The Fifth Circuit later concluded that a jury could view this contemporaneous question as evidence contradicting Granado's later assertion that he saw Ramirez armed before and during the shooting.
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The autopsy provided additional evidence inconsistent with Granado's account of an immediate frontal threat. Four of Granado's bullets struck Ramirez, including a fatal shot to the back of his head, and all four wound tracks traveled from back to front. Body-camera imagery showed Ramirez running away with his back toward both officers when Granado fired the fatal volley. Watson's service weapon remained holstered throughout the shooting.
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Ramirez collapsed face-first in the direction he had been running. He died from the gunshot wounds.
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The shooting was initially investigated by Fort Worth police. Lake Worth Police Chief J.T. Manoushagian publicly defended the shooting, saying video showed Ramirez with a gun and expressing confidence that the recordings would support the police account. The case was forwarded to the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office and a grand jury. Granado was not criminally charged.
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Ramirez's mother, Juanita Ramirez, subsequently filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit against Granado and the City of Lake Worth alleging excessive force and inadequate training and supervision. The litigation directly challenged the police claim that Ramirez pointed or swung the gun toward officers and alleged that Granado shot Ramirez repeatedly in the back as he ran away.
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In August 2024, U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman granted summary judgment to Granado, finding his use of deadly force objectively reasonable and granting him qualified immunity. The case was dismissed with prejudice.
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Ramirez's family appealed. On 12/10/2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed the summary judgment for Granado. The appellate majority held that the conflicting evidence—including Watson's statement, Granado's body-camera footage, Granado's immediate question about whether Ramirez had a gun, and the back-to-front bullet trajectories—created factual disputes that could not properly be resolved in Granado's favor at summary judgment.
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The Fifth Circuit concluded that a reasonable jury could find that Ramirez did not point or swing the gun toward the officers and could disbelieve Granado's assertion that he perceived Ramirez as presenting the immediate deadly threat he later described. The ruling returned the excessive-force claim for further proceedings rather than clearing Granado of civil liability.
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Granado sought rehearing. On 02/20/2026, the Fifth Circuit denied panel rehearing and rehearing en banc. Granado subsequently petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court. The civil litigation therefore remained active in 2026.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
Jonathan Granado had been involved in a serious previous use-of-force incident less than a year before killing Ramirez. In November 2020, Granado attempted to stop motorcyclist Dustin Bates because his license plate was obscured and Granado believed the motorcycle might be stolen. Bates continued driving away and later ran on foot.
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Granado pursued Bates in his police SUV and struck him with the vehicle. Dashcam video documented the collision. Bates suffered a fractured spine, three fractured ribs and a broken leg.
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Lake Worth suspended Granado for two weeks and assigned him to administrative duty while the 2020 incident was investigated. An outside investigation characterized the collision as accidental, and a grand jury declined to indict Granado. Lake Worth nevertheless required Granado to undergo additional training and make a presentation to other officers about what he had learned and what he could have done better.
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Bates filed a federal excessive-force lawsuit against Granado in January 2022, alleging Granado deliberately ran him down with the police SUV. The lawsuit brought renewed public scrutiny to Granado and resulted in Lake Worth Chief Manoushagian publicly confirming that Granado was also the previously unnamed officer who killed Ramirez.
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Granado resigned from the Lake Worth Police Department in November 2021, approximately two months after killing Ramirez and several weeks before the criminal investigation into the Ramirez shooting was forwarded to the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office.
SOURCE LINKS :
https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/crime/article253972498.html
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/texas/txndce/4%3A2022cv00930/368853/48/
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca5/24-10755/24-10755-2025-12-10.html
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca5/24-10755/24-10755-2026-02-20.html
