Former officer says shooting that killed teen was justified
A white former suburban Dallas police officer who fired into a moving car carrying five black teenagers, killing one of them, says in a court filing that his actions were justified because he believed his partner’s life was in danger.
Former Balch Springs officer Roy Oliver said in Tuesday’s federal court filing that he and his partner were in fear for their lives in April when the car carrying the teens sped past them. Oliver contends he was startled when he heard breaking glass and believed his partner was under threat.
A message left with Oliver’s attorney, Jim Lane, wasn’t immediately returned Wednesday.
Oliver fired three to five times into the car and Jordan Edwards, 15, was mortally wounded. He also contends that gunshot residue was found on Edwards, who was identified in the filing by his initials.
Attorneys for Edwards’ family say the gunshot residue came from Oliver when he contaminated the scene, and that any implication that the teen handled a weapon is false.
Oliver, 37, was fired in May for violating department policies, but police officials haven’t specified which ones. A grand jury indicted him Monday on a murder charge and four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon by a public servant related to the other four boys in the car.
Oliver, who was arrested on the murder charge less than a week after the shooting, turned himself in and is free on bond.
The shooting happened as the officers were responding to a report of drunken teens at a party. They had entered the home where the party was being held when the officers heard rapid gunfire outside. They ran outside to find cars leaving, including the one carrying Edwards. The driver of the sedan in which Edwards was a passenger disregarded several orders to stop, precipitating the shooting, Oliver said in court records, filed in response to a wrongful death lawsuit brought by Edwards’ family.
Texas A&M has removed a provost and executive vice president from her post after an audit found “significant” conflicts of interest after university contracts were awarded to a business run by her spouse.
Documents obtained by The Eagle newspaper show in the seven years that Provost Karan Watson held her post, her spouse — who owns a conflict-resolution firm — received nearly $440,000 for university training services. That included almost $10,000 paid by the provost’s office and more than $100,000 from the Office of Diversity, which reports to the provost.
The inquiry found that arrangement violated the A&M System’s ethics policy and cited five areas in which the provost failed to comply with the code of conduct, but auditors did not find any evidence that she pressured or tried to influence staff to hire her spouse, the Eagle reported.
Watson says she tried to avoid violating any university policy and regularly reported her spouse’s work on disclosure forms.
Watson had already announced her retirement, but was planning to remain until her replacement arrived.
The Eagle reported that the audit was initiated by a whistleblower’s complaint lodged in May, marking the third grievance accusing the Watsons of similar possible ethics violations connected to the business, the Center for Change and Conflict Resolution in Bryan-College Station.