The jury found former Balch Springs police officer Roy Oliver guilty of the murder of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards. The Dallas County District Attorney assigned seven prosecutors to this case. Oliver was tried for murder and two of the original four counts of aggravated assault and faced up to life in prison on each one of the three felony charges.
#DALLAS NEWS PHOTO POLICE OFFICER AND BOY AFTER SHOOTINGS TRIAL#
The trial began in 292 nd District Court, Judge Brandon Birmingham presiding. Originally set for January 2018 and then delayed until June 2018, the murder trial of Roy Oliver was delayed for a second time to 16 August 2018. On Ja Dallas County grand jury indicted Roy Oliver on a charge of murder for the death of Jordan Edwards. Discussions of killings of young black men, police use of force and use of lethal force, and the reporting and collection of statistics regarding use of lethal force surround the Jordan Edwards case. The shooting of Jordan Edwards received national and international press coverage.
Also that day, the family of Jordan Edwards filed suit against the city of Balch Springs, that department and Officer Oliver regarding the use of excessive force. īy Friday that same week, the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department issued a warrant for the arrest of Roy Oliver on a charge of murder in addition to four counts of aggravated assault for the same incident. The group included Jordan’s mother, Charmaine Edwards. That Mother’s Day, May 14, hundreds marched in Dallas to support mothers of children lost to lethal police force.
The Texas Black Legislative Caucus demanded appointment of special prosecutors for officer-involved shootings, reform of the standards for acceptable use of lethal force and reform of how police arrest and send people to county jails. ĭallas community response was also swift. Haber’s quick admission of and regret for police responsibility in the Edwards’ killing and the swift firing of Officer Oliver is rare for a police department. The Balch Springs Police Department fired Officer Roy Oliver. Therefore, police killed an innocent teen. Moreover, no alcohol or drugs were found in the car and no evidence that the teens had been drinking. On Monday, May 1 Chief Haber announced that, after watching body-cam video of the incident, his initial statement was incorrect and that the car had been moving away from the officers. On Sunday April 30, Balch Springs police chief Jonathan Haber’s initial statement said that the car was moving, in reverse, toward the police in an ‘aggressive manner,’ and Oliver opened fire. Apparently, Oliver ‘flipped off’ the car after killing Jordan. Roy Oliver raised his rifle and shot into the car, killing Jordan Edwards with a bullet to the head. One of Jordan’s brother testified that he heard shouting but did not know who was yelling or what was being said, and the car did not stop. Officer Gross yelled for the car to stop and walked to it, breaking a car window with his gun. Meanwhile, Jordan climbed into the front passenger seat of a car with his two brothers and two friends, and the group began to drive away.
(The shots were later determined to have occurred over a block away.) Oliver ran to his patrol car and grabbed a rifle. While in the home, the officers heard gunshots and ran outside. The officers found no drugs or alcohol in the home. About 11 pm Balch Springs officers Roy Oliver and Tyler Gross responded to a 911 call at the address alleging a noise disturbance and underage drinking. The five boys arrived at the party around 10 pm on Saturday, April 29, 2017. One of the bullets struck Jordan in his head killing him. A police officer responding to a call for service fired his patrol rifle at the car containing the five teenagers. Jordan Edwards, 15-year-old Mesquite High School freshman and Honor Roll student, attended a house party in Balch Springs, a Dallas suburb, with his two brothers, both 17, and two friends.
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