A Williamson County grand jury no-billed a Cedar Park police officer Wednesday in connection with the fatal shooting of a man behind a restaurant in February.
The jury declined to indict Cedar Park Officer Joseph Christensen, who shot and killed Chad Runge after Runge had robbed the employees of a Little Caesar’s Pizza restaurant on Feb. 24, police said.
Runge, 20, was armed with what appeared to be a 9 mm gun with a silencer, said Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley. Officers found out after the shooting that the gun was a BB gun, Bradley said.
Runge fled from the pizza restaurant and hid behind the wall of a Bush’s chicken restaurant after the robbery, police said. When Christensen approached Runge, Runge leaped up, pointed his gun at the officer and said “Freeze!,” said Bradley.
Christensen fired his gun three times at Runge and hit Runge twice, including once in the arm and once in the forehead, said Bradley.
Bradley said the officer was justified in using deadly force. Officers recovered the $1,200 that Runge had taken from the pizza restaurant, he said.
Cedar Park Police Chief Henry Fluck said the incident was the first fatal shooting a Cedar Park police officer has ever been involved in.