Texas: Police officer fired after killing 15-year-old honor student
Officer Roy Oliver has been with the Balch Springs Police Department in Texas since 2011. He was placed on administrative leave.
WASHINGTON – A police officer in Texas who fired multiple rifle rounds into a car full of teens Saturday night – killing a 15-year-old boy – was fired Tuesday, police said.
Officer Roy Oliver of the Balch Springs Police department in suburban Dallas fired at a vehicle Jordan Edwards was riding in with his two brothers and friends. One bullet hit Jordan in the head and he later died.
The teens were leaving a house party to which officers had been summoned to investigate possible underage drinking.
Police had originally said Oliver fired at the car because it was backing up “aggressively towards the officer.” But Police Chief Jonathon Haber said two bodycam videos showed that the car was driving away from the officers.
He told reporters Tuesday that Oliver, a six-year-veteran of the force, “violated several departmental policies” but he couldn’t specify which ones because Oliver can appeal his firing.
In a statement released Tuesday through their attorney, Lee Merritt, Jordan’s family thanked Haber for making “commendable strides toward justice” and said they were “grateful the decision has been made to terminate the officer responsible for Jordan’s murder.”
“However, there remains a long road ahead,” the family said, repeating their attorney’s allegation that Jordan’s 16-year-old brother was detained overnight without reason or charges and didn’t learn until he was released Sunday morning that his brother had been killed.
The family asked that the community refrain from marches and protests, and said they do not condone violence against law enforcement officers.
Balch Springs police said Tuesday evening that the district attorney’s office will decide whether Oliver will be charged.
This article was republished with permission from Talk Media News.
Regina Holmes has more than two decades of experience as a journalist –editing and reporting for news dailies including the Miami Herald, Newsday and the Baltimore Examiner.