White ex-cop convicted of murder for shooting unarmed black teen

Conviction stemming from incident last year in Dallas suburb could result in life sentence

DALLAS — A white former police officer was found guilty of murder Tuesday for the April 2017 shooting death of an African-American teenager and could face up to life in prison.

Roy Oliver had testified he was defending his partner when he shot into a car leaving a house party in the Dallas suburb of Balch Springs. FifteenTALLAHASSEE, year-old Jordan Edwards, a freshman honor roll student who was sitting in the front passenger seat, was killed instantly.

The incident became a flashpoint in north Texas and nationally, reigniting concerns of racism and police brutality. Oliver is the second ex-officer in Dallas County to be found guilty of murder this year in connection with a civilian’s death.

More than a dozen uniformed police officers lined the walls of the packed courtroom as the verdict was read. The jury, which deliberated for 13 hours, found Oliver not guilty of two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon by a public servant.

“For an officer to be convicted of murder resulting from an onduty shooting, the facts of the incident have to be so bizarre that there is no rational explanation for the officer’s actions,” noted Philip Stinson, an associate professor of criminal justice at Bowling Green State University who tracks police misconduct. “I think that shooting into a car full of teenagers as they slowly drive down the street away from the officer fits that pattern.”

Oliver’s wife sobbed in a front row while embracing his mother. On the other side of the courtroom, friends and family of Jordan Edwards hugged one another as they also cried.