The Slatest

Texas Police Officer Who Killed Black Teenager Is Charged With Murder

A combination photo shows Roy Oliver in Parker County Sheriff’s Office booking photos in Weatherford, Texas on May 5, 2017.  

Courtesy Parker County Sheriff’s Office/Handout via REUTERS

The police officer from a Dallas suburb who was fired shortly after he shot and killed a 15-year-old who was leaving a party could spend the rest of his life in prison. Roy Oliver, the former Balch Springs officer, was arrested on a murder charge Friday night. The 37-year-old former officer turned himself in and was quickly released after he posted bail on a $300,000 bond. Oliver killed Jordan Edwards when he fired a rifle into a car filled with teenagers who were leaving a party Saturday night. A bullet struck Edwards, who was a passenger, in the head.

Although police first said Oliver fired the rifle because the car was backing up toward police officers, body-cam footage showed the car was actually driving away. Edwards’ family released a statement after the arrest warrant was issued, calling it “a bit of a reprieve in a time of intense mourning.”

The former police officer was arrested hours before Jordan’s funeral was scheduled to take place on Saturday. The family urged people not to protest at the funeral. “Though we understand what his life and death mean symbolically, we are not ready to make a martyr of our son,” the family said.

Jordan is the youngest of the 339 people who were shot and killed by police so far this year, according to the Washington Post.