Officer charged in teen’s killing
DALLAS — A white Texas police officer faces a murder charge in the shooting of a black teenager after being fired earlier in the week over the incident, authorities said Friday.
Roy Oliver turned himself in Friday night, just hours after the Dallas County Sheriff ’s Office issued a warrant for his arrest in the April 29 death of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards. Oliver, a former officer in the Dallas suburb of Balch Springs, was later released after posting bail at the Parker County Jail in Weatherford, about 95 miles west of Dallas. His bond had been set at $300,000.
The sheriff ’s office said in a statement the warrant was issued based on evidence that suggested Oliver “intended to cause serious bodily injury and commit an act clearly dangerous to human life that caused the death.”
Oliver fired a rifle at a car of teenagers leaving a party, striking and killing Edwards. The shooting led to protests calling for Oliver to be charged. About 200 people attended a vigil Thursday night in Balch Springs.
The Edwards family released a statement Friday evening calling the arrest warrant “a bit of a reprieve in a time of intense mourning.”
“Although we realize that there remain significant obstacles ahead on the road to justice, this action brings hope that the justice system will bend against the overwhelming weight of our frustration,” the family said.
Oliver’s attorney, Cindy Stormer, didn’t return messages seeking comment.
Edwards and his two brothers and two other teenagers were driving away from an unruly house party in Balch Springs late Saturday when Oliver opened fire on their vehicle with a rifle. The bullets shattered the front passengerside window and struck Edwards. Oliver was fired Tuesday for violating department policies.
Records show that Oliver was briefly suspended in 2013 after a complaint about his conduct while serving as a witness in a drunkendriving case.
Personnel records from the Balch Springs Police Department obtained by the Associated Press show Oliver was suspended for 16 hours in December 2013 after the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office filed the complaint. Oliver also was ordered to take training courses in anger management and courtroom demeanor and testimony.
The personnel records also included periodic evaluations that noted at least one instance when Oliver was reprimanded for being “disrespectful to a civilian on a call.” That evaluation, dated Jan. 27, 2017, called the reprimand an isolated incident and urged Oliver to be mindful of his leadership role in the department.
The complaint from the prosecutor’s office said the office had a hard time getting Oliver to attend the trial, he was angry he had to be there, he used vulgar language that caused an assistant district attorney to send a female intern out of the room, and he used profanity during his testimony.