Former officer found guilty of teen’s murder
A white ex-police officer was convicted of murder yesterday for fatally shooting a black, unarmed 15-year-old boy while firing into a car packed with teenagers in suburban Dallas, marking a rare guilty verdict in a police shooting case.
Dallas County jurors were not swayed by Roy Oliver’s claim that he feared for his partner’s life when he fired into the vehicle as it drove away from a large house party in Balch Springs in April 2017. The gunfire killed Jordan Edwards, who was sitting in the front passenger seat.
Gasps echoed around the courtroom as the verdict was read. Edwards’ relatives sobbed and hugged prosecutors, and waved their hands in the air and proclaimed ‘‘Thank you, Jesus!’’ after the jury left.
His father, Odell Edwards, briefly spoke outside the courtroom before heading back in to begin listening to the sentencing phase of the trial.
‘‘I just want to say I’m happy, very happy,’’ he said, adding that it’s ‘‘been a long time’’ since he felt that way.
Oliver and his partner were responding to a report of underage drinking at a house party when the April 2017 shooting occurred in Balch Springs.
Police initially said the vehicle backed up towards officers ‘‘in an aggressive manner,’’ but police later said that bodycam video showed the vehicle was moving forwards as officers approached. Oliver was fired just days after the shooting.
Oliver testified during the trial that he opened fire after seeing the car move towards his partner. But his partner told jurors he did not fear for his life.
It’s extremely rare for police officers to be tried and convicted of murder for shootings that occurred while they were on duty. Only six non-federal police officers have now been convicted of murder in such cases – and four of those were overturned – since 2005, according to data compiled by criminologist and Bowling Green State University professor Phil Stinson.
Stinson, who tracks such cases nationwide, said yesterday that to secure a murder conviction against an officer, the facts of a case have to be ‘‘so over the top and bizarre’’ that the officer’s actions cannot be rationally explained.
Experts also say that securing a conviction against an officer is often a challenge because jurors are inclined to believe police testimony and criminal culpability in such cases is subjective.
Oliver was found not guilty on two lesser charges of aggravated assault.
‘‘This was a long fought battle,’’ said Daryl Washington, an attorney representing Odell Edwards in a civil lawsuit filed in the death. ‘‘We are just happy . . . that Roy Oliver is gonna have to do his time for taking Jordan’s life. What he did on that night should have never happened.’’ –