On Saturday night, high schooler Jordan Edwards was leaving a party in a suburb of Dallas. Cops were just arriving at the scene after neighbors complained about “drunken young people”; Edwards was in a car that police originally stated was driven aggressively towards them. Officer Roy Oliver opened fire on the vehicle, shooting Edwards, 15, in the head. He died soon after in the hospital.
The New York Times reported on Monday Police Chief John Haber admitted that video footage from body cameras revealed that the car had actually been pulling away away from police when shots were fired. Lee Merritt, an attorney representing the Edwards’ family, told the NYT that Haber’s reveal was deeply significant to the case:
“There were no weapons involved; there was no aggressive behavior; these were not suspects,” Mr. Merritt said in a telephone interview. “The lone motive they had for the murder was that the vehicle was being used as a weapon, and now that is no longer there.”
The Guardian reports that the officer who hit Edwards through the passenger side window, identified as Roy Oliver, has been fired. Chief Haber declined to elaborate on the details of Oliver’s termination, as the officer is entitled to appeal the decision. Oliver has been with the department since 2011, and Haber stated he has committed “several” unspecified violations in his time there. Meritt and the Edwards’ family want to see criminal charges levied against Oliver.
“They have a dead child, they have the identity of the shooter, and they have no explanation for the shooting,” said Meritt, “They have more than sufficient probable cause to make an arrest.”