Harker Heights police identify driver fatally shot by officer after pursuit

HARKER HEIGHTS, Texas (KWTX) - The Harker Heights Police Department on Thursday identified Joe Michael Goss, 45, as the driver shot and killed in an officer-involved shooting Tuesday morning.

The officer pulled the driver over at 1:00 a.m. Feb. 21 in the 600 block of Indian Trail and East Veterans Memorial Blvd.

Police said the driver initially stopped, but then fled the traffic stop and the officer pursued him.

The driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle near the intersection of Indian Trail and Beeline.

“The suspect possessed a knife and advanced toward the officer in a threatening manner resulting in the officer firing his service weapon. Immediate life-saving measures were performed by Police Officers until Harker Heights EMS arrived at approximately 1:10 a.m.,” said Chief of Police Betiale Hawkins II.

Justice of the Peace Gregory Johnson pronounced Goss dead at approximately 3:27 a.m. and ordered an autopsy be performed at the Southwestern Institute of Forensics Sciences in Dallas.

They did say the officer was not injured and is on administrative leave, which is standard policy with use of deadly force.

The matter remains under investigation by the Texas Rangers.