Arlington officer who shot at passenger during traffic stop put on administrative leave

An Arlington police officer was placed on administrative leave Sunday after he shot at a passenger during a traffic stop, according to a department news release.

Police say the passenger was holding a gun when he got out of the vehicle and one of two officers at the scene fired their service weapon at him. No one was injured during the incident

The “sequence of events that occurred” are under investigation, although police say they “do not believe (the passenger) fired any shots at the officers.”

Around 2:40 p.m. Sunday, two officers on the department’s Community Action Team pulled over a vehicle near the intersection of Carter Drive and Skylark Drive because it was flagged for having a felony warrant associated with it, the release said.

As the driver pulled over, 26-year-old Esteban Morales got out of the vehicle holding a gun and “a short time later” the officer, a five-year veteran of the department, shot at him, according to the release.

Morales left the scene but was later found and booked into the Arlington City Jail on one court of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon and multiple misdemeanor warrants, police said. The gun he was thought to have had was also recovered.

The driver, 43-year-old Jeffrey Bateman, stayed at the scene but was also arrested on multiple misdemeanor warrants.

The person connected to the felony warrant that prompted the traffic stop was not in the vehicle.

Two separate investigations are ongoing. The first is a criminal investigation to determine whether any offenses were committed during the incident. The second is the administrative investigation to determine whether department policies and training were followed.

The officer has not been publicly identified.