Former police officer Roy Oliver is standing trial for the death of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards. Edwards was shot and killed while he was in a car leaving a party on April 29, 2017. Oliver is accused of firing into the vehicle that Edwards and other teens were in. Oliver is charged with murder and faces life in prison.
Balch Springs Police Chief Jonathan Haber had initially said that the car Edwards was in posed a threat to Oliver in how it was backing up towards his car, but footage called that assessment into question.
Reports also indicated that Oliver had a history of overly aggressive behavior, in addition to white supremacist tendencies. Edwards was black. A road rage incident from weeks prior to the shooting resulted in separate charges against the officer.
A psychological exam that Oliver took in 2011 also turned up noteworthy results. “He may not care what others think of him or of his behavior,” the exam showed, according to the Dallas Morning News. “He may feel so insensitive to threat that his judgment may be impaired in evaluating the risk of danger.”
Court records also stated that Oliver “flipped off” the car Edwards was in after the shooting.
Oliver’s legal team tried to fight prosecutors on a statement he made after the incident, claiming it was only made to the internal affairs bureau, and was not meant for officers investigating the criminal case.
“You can’t un-ring that bell. That office (DA) is unable constitutionally to proceed with this prosecution,” attorney Bob Gill said.
The judge ruled in favor of the prosecution, and is allowing that evidence to be used at trial.
[Image via Parker County Jail]
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