Those involved in a Sunday arrest that led to an officer’s gun being fired by a suspect are all alive – a message stressed by Tyler Police Chief Jimmy Toler during a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

Toler said things could’ve ended differently after Brianna Erwin fired an officer’s gun while Tyler Police Department officers tried to restrain and handcuff her following an alleged theft. After Erwin grabbed the arresting officer’s gun and fired it through his holster, the officer responded by punching her in the face to “stun” her and deescalate the situation, Toler said.

The fact the arrest didn’t end worse for either party is not lost on Toler. That prevention of a tragedy is something he wants the Tyler community to keep in mind as they form opinions about the arrest.

“We are extremely proud of the restraint these officers had,” Toler said during an interview with our news partners at CBS19. “This could’ve been severely worse. When (Erwin) grabbed that firearm and chose to pull that trigger, that escalated this to a deadly force situation. The restraint of these officers is the reason she’s still alive today.”

While the department defends its officers actions, others are outraged and say excessive force was unnecessarily used.

The moment a shot was fired

The situation began around 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon after officers were called to a reported theft at the Dollar General on Gentry Parkway. Two suspects were involved, and one complied immediately, Toler said. The other, identified as Erwin, walked away from officers and verbally denied their orders as they tried to detain her, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. She ended up tripping while she tried to run away, which led the officer to get on top of her, leading to a struggle as she continued to resist. “Get him off of me,” Erwin says, as heard in footage.

The arresting officer called for backup, and soon another officer arrived to help. Both male officers – whose identities have not been publicly released – tried to control Erwin’s hands, body and feet as she flailed about, verbally and physically refusing to comply with lawful orders, Toler said. The officers continued to use “soft controls” to try to control Erwin and secure her in handcuffs, but she “absolutely failed to cooperate,” Toler said.

“Erwin continuously thrashed about, twisting her body, biting and pulling her arms away from officers,” an arrest warrant affidavit stated.

During the struggle, Erwin grabbed the arresting officer’s pistol, which was holstered to his side.

“She was able to get her finger inside the holster and discharge the firearm,” Toler said.

At that point, Toler said it was Erwin who made the decision to “escalate” the situation to one of deadly force, leading the involved officers to respond however necessary within the department’s policies to keep themselves safe.

After the gunfire, the officer used a “closed-hand strike” – a punch – to ultimately control Erwin. It was Erwin’s decisions and defiant actions that led the officers to take the action they did, Toler emphasized.

If someone accused of a crime has an issue with an officer’s conduct, it’s recommended to comply during the arrest and, afterwards, file a complaint to be investigated, Toler said. “Fighting with an officer in the street is not the way to do it,” he said.

Physical restraint is part of the department’s approved procedures, according to the city’s website. An officer may use physical restraint in two ways: first, by soft empty hand control, which is accomplished using approved restraints as taught in accordance with recognized methods to gain control of the subject; or second, by strikes or hard empty hand control methods, when an officer delivers blows with their hands, knees or feet to gain control of the subject, the policy states. Read the department’s full use of force policy online at cityoftyler.org or directly at tinyurl.com/tylerpdforcepolicy .

A full investigation is underway to determine if proper policy was followed by the officers, Toler said. The officer whose gun was fired by Erwin is working in an administrative position while the investigation is ongoing. The backup officer is still working patrol, according to Tyler PD.

Toler said the officers’ mental health is important to keep in check, as dealing with the aftermath of a suspect firing a gun is challenging for an officer.

“This is as traumatic an experience for them as it is for anyone else,” Toler said. “One of the first things (the arresting officer) did was ask if he was bleeding because he didn’t know if he was shot or not … This person had the intent to harm or possibly kill a Tyler police officer.”

Erwin told officials at the jail she didn’t mean to fire the gun, an affidavit states.

Why wasn’t the full body camera footage released?

A 7-second clip from the backup officer’s body camera was released Tuesday, something Toler said the department did to clear up inaccuracies about the arrest that were circulating on social media.

While it is not standard for footage to be released during an ongoing investigation, the department will always do what it can to correct false information, Toler said.

“We will use the resources we have to correct inaccurate statements that are made in the public on social media,” Toler said. “There was a narrative going on that that officer fired his own firearm … We had proof that that wasn’t true.”

The body camera footage released by the department shows a close-up view of Erwin’s hand on the officer’s gun in his holster. The officer responded for Erwin to “let go of my gun” as he tried to grab her arms to cuff her. The department said Erwin grabbed the officer’s gun and fired it. The gun is seen in the officer’s holster and the shot can be heard in the footage.

The partial footage publicly released ends there, but the department says the next thing that happened is the strike on Erwin, which the officer did to “prevent further escalation and the use of deadly force.” This is also seen in the witness footage circulating on social media.

The full footage will not be released at this time. Doing so would interfere with the investigation process, Toler said, noting investigators are looking into the alleged theft, aggravated assault and other charges against Erwin, in addition to reviewing the officers’ response and determining if it met Tyler PD’s standard policies.

Toler commended the backup officer, whose body camera fell off as he teamed with the other officer to restrain Erwin. After it fell off, he was sure to reattach it to his chest – an action that allowed investigators, and the public, to review the situation from his point of view. A body camera – a significant investment made by the City of Tyler – is a “valuable tool that gives the jury and the public the same view an officer had,” Toler said.

Toler noted another point of view of the arrest – a 2-minute video – is also circulating on social media. In that footage, viewers can see the officer punch Erwin in the face.

“People have seen what happened, they know that the officer struck the suspect,” Toler said. “That’s under our investigation right now, there is a possibility that we will release a video of it in the future but not until we are further along in our investigation.”

He said the department plans to release the ultimate findings of these investigations once they are concluded.

Public has mixed opinions

This incident has drawn controversy on social media, as some stand by the department’s response while others argue excessive force was used. Erwin’s mugshot shows one of her eyes swollen and bruised from the officer’s punch.

Lisa Williams, president of Tyler’s NAACP chapter, said the organization is “deeply outraged” by the footage that shows Erwin being “violently beaten by law enforcement.”

“This excessive force is unacceptable and demands immediate accountability,” Williams said.

NAACP Tyler requested full access to all body camera footage from the incident, in addition to a detailed incident report. The organization also wanted to know what disciplinary actions have been taken against the involved officers.

“We stand with the victim and demand justice, transparency, and action from our city leaders,” Williams said Tuesday in a statement provided to the Tyler Morning Telegraph.

The Tyler chapter of the NAACP advocates for “equal political, educational, social, and economic rights of all persons & to eliminate race-based discrimination,” according to its website.

Meanwhile, the Tyler Patrolman’s Association (TPA) said when a suspect grabs an officer’s gun, it is an “extremely dangerous act” — one that could’ve “ended in tragedy.”

The TPA posted the witness video to its Facebook page. That video was also posted to many community Facebook groups, where people commented mixed views about how officers handled the incident before seeing the body camera footage from the officer’s point of view. Many formed opinions about the officer’s reactive response to hit Erwin, but the patrolman’s association asks the public to “remain calm and avoid rushing to judgment as the investigation runs its course.”

The association reminds people disobeying lawful commands and resisting arrest puts lives at risk.

“Compliance protects everyone and preserves a suspect’s right to bring challenges through legal means — not violence,” TPA said in its statement.

TPA said it stands by the officers’ response to the situation.

“Our officers showed incredible restraint in a life-threatening moment,” TPA President Tyler Pride said. “They responded with professionalism and control when greater force was likely justified.”

Is Erwin pregnant?

While Erwin was being detained, police say she “claimed she was pregnant,” which can be heard in the witness-recorded footage.

Erwin was medically evaluated at the jail after she was arrested, the department said. Williams said she visited Erwin who told her the pregnancy test was negative.

Erwin remains in the Smith County Jail on an outstanding warrant for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of aggravated assault on a public servant, possession of a controlled substance, resisting arrest, evading arrest/detention, and harassment of a public servant. She is being held on bonds totaling $410,000 but, due to a probation violation, is unable to bond out until she appears before a judge.

In February, Erwin was sentenced to eight years of probation and 240 community service hours after pleading guilty to an aggravated assault charge from an April 27, 2024 incident.