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James Matalice Smith

Age : 41

Gender : Male

Race : Unknown

Date : 08/18/2021

Location : Co Rd 230 & FM 60

City : Somerville

County : Burleson

State : Texas

Agency : Texas Department of Public Safety; Burleson County Sheriff’s Office

Officer(s) :Joshua Strawn; Other Trooper(s) Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police during eight-hour warrant standoff

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

n 08/17/2021, Burleson County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy John Pollock went to 41-year-old James Matalice Smith’s residence along FM 60 near County Road 230 to serve an arrest warrant. Later reporting established that the warrant arose from an investigation of an armed robbery at a Dollar General near Lake Somerville on 08/14/2021. Police alleged Smith was one of several people involved in that robbery.
According to police, Smith shot Pollock in the face while Pollock was attempting to serve the warrant at approximately 6:45 p.m. Pollock suffered a serious wound to his chin and jaw and was transported for emergency treatment. Smith remained inside the residence, and police surrounded the property.
The confrontation developed into an approximately eight-hour standoff. The response expanded to include the Texas Department of Public Safety, Burleson County Sheriff’s Office, Bryan and College Station police, Brazos County law enforcement and other agencies. Texas DPS tactical personnel were among the officers deployed at the residence.
At approximately 3 a.m. on 08/18/2021, Smith came out of the residence. Early DPS statements said officers believed he was surrendering and alleged that Smith then fired at Texas Highway Patrol Trooper Joshua Strawn, striking him in the arm. Officers returned fire and shot Smith. EMS treated Smith at the scene, but he died there.
A later Texas Department of Public Safety account supplied a substantially more detailed sequence than the initial reporting. DPS said Smith emerged from the house with a handgun and fired two rounds before falling to the ground, apparently incapacitated. Strawn and another trooper approached him. According to DPS, Smith then rolled over, produced a handgun and fired twice at Strawn. Troopers returned fire and killed Smith.
The later DPS account also revealed that Strawn sustained more injuries than initially reported. Investigators initially described him as having been shot in the arm, but DPS subsequently stated that he suffered a gunshot wound to his right arm and another gunshot wound to his upper right thigh. Other DPS personnel moved Strawn to safety and applied a tourniquet before EMS transported him to a hospital. He survived and was later released.
The Texas Rangers took responsibility for investigating the shootings. Public reporting identified Strawn as one of the troopers directly involved in the final confrontation but did not identify the other trooper or troopers who fired at Smith. The publicly indexed material located for this update does not provide a subsequent grand-jury report, prosecutor findings letter, body-camera release, civil lawsuit or detailed Texas Rangers public report identifying every officer who fired.
Chief Deputy Pollock underwent surgery for the gunshot injury to his face and was released from the hospital on 08/20/2021. He returned to work shortly afterward, although officials said his recovery would be lengthy and he could require additional surgery.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
Joshua Strawn was a 16-year Texas Department of Public Safety veteran assigned to the Freeport Highway Patrol office when Smith was killed. DPS subsequently awarded Strawn its Purple Heart for injuries he sustained during the confrontation.
Strawn appears in an earlier Texas appellate case arising from an October 2013 traffic stop he conducted in Brazoria County. That case concerned a motorist convicted of providing false identifying information and does not establish misconduct by Strawn. A search of publicly indexed records did not identify another reliably documented fatal police shooting, substantiated excessive-force finding, disciplinary action or civil-rights judgment involving Strawn.
The available public record does not reliably identify the other trooper or troopers who fired at Smith. Their names therefore cannot be checked for prior shootings, complaints or disciplinary histories without risking attribution to the wrong officers.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.kbtx.com/2021/08/18/burleson-county-deputy-shot-active-standoff-fm-60/
https://www.kbtx.com/2021/08/18/texas-rangers-take-lead-investigation-after-burleson-county-chief-deputy-shot-serving-warrant/
https://www.kbtx.com/2021/08/23/burleson-county-standoff-suspect-tied-somerville-armed-robbery/
https://www.dps.texas.gov/news/dps-recognizes-multi-organizational-efforts-protect-state-final-psc-meeting-2021
https://kwhi.com/2021/08/18/dps-suspect-in-burleson-co-standoff-dead/
https://kwhi.com/2021/08/24/dps-suspect-in-burleson-co-standoff-was-connected-to-armed-robbery/
https://www.kxxv.com/brazos/burleson-county-law-enforcement-officer-shot-standoff-ongoing