Roy Oliver, 37-year-old former Balch Springs officer, has not yet been taken into custody
Roy Oliver
BALCH SPRINGS, Texas — A fired suburban Dallas police officer has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards, CBS Dallas/Fort Worth reports.
Roy Oliver, the 37-year-old former Balch Springs officer, fatally shot Edwards while he was in the passenger seat of a car leaving a party in the suburb.
The Dallas County Sheriff’s Department issued the warrant Friday and said that the former officer had not yet been arrested. Authorities said they found evidence suggesting Oliver « intended to cause serious bodily injury and commit an act clearly dangerous to human life that caused the death. »
In the suburbs of Dallas, 15-year-old Jordan Edwards was unarmed and shot to death by Officer Roy Oliver. The police chief of Balch Springs, Texa…
The investigation into the teen’s death will continue and does not conclude with Oliver’s arrest. The warrant states that any peace officer may arrest Oliver, and that Oliver could also turn himself in to authorities.
Oliver fired a rifle at a car of teenagers leaving a party, striking and killing Edwards. The shooting led to protests calling for Oliver to be charged. About 200 people attended a vigil Thursday night in Balch Springs.
Oliver’s attorney, Cindy Stormer, didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment.
Edwards and his two brothers and two other teenagers were driving away from a house party in Balch Springs late Saturday night when Oliver opened fire on their vehicle with a rifle. The bullets shattered the front passenger-side window and struck Edwards. Oliver was fired Tuesday for violating department policies.
It took a few moments for Edwards’ 16-year-old brother, who was driving, and other passengers to notice that he was slumped over in his seat.
Records show that Oliver was briefly suspended in 2013 following a complaint about his conduct while serving as a witness in a drunk-driving case.
A few hundred supporters stand holding lit candles as they listen to speakers during a vigil for Jordan Edwards in Balch Springs on May 4,2017.
Oliver was suspended for 16 hours in December 2013 after the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office filed the complaint, according to personnel records obtained by The Associated Press. Oliver also was ordered to take training courses in anger management and courtroom demeanor and testimony.
The personnel records also included periodic evaluations that noted at least one instance when Oliver was reprimanded for being « disrespectful to a civilian on a call. » That evaluation, dated Jan. 27,2017, called the reprimand an isolated incident and urged Oliver to be mindful of his leadership role in the department.
The complaint from the prosecutor’s office said the office had a hard time getting Oliver to attend the trial, he was angry he had to be there, he used vulgar language that caused an assistant district attorney to send a female intern out of the room, and he used profanity during his testimony.
De’Juan Johnson, 15, a friend of Jordan Edwards becomes emotional at a candle light vigil in Balch Springs on May 4,2017.
« In an email from one of the prosecutors he states you were a ‘scary person to have in our workroom, ‘ » then-Balch Springs Police Chief Ed Morris wrote in the suspension findings.
Oliver joined the Balch Springs department in 2011 after being an officer with the Dalworthington Gardens Police Department for almost a year. A statement from Dalworthington Gardens officials on Wednesday included details of that and previous intermittent employment as a dispatcher and public works employee between 1999 and 2004.
He received an award for « meritorious conduct » as a dispatcher and there were no documented complaints or disciplinary action in either his work as a public safety officer or dispatcher, according to the statement. Between his employment as a dispatcher and officer in the Dallas suburb, Oliver was in the U. S. Army, rising to the rank of sergeant while serving two tours in Iraq and earning various commendations. He served for two years in the Texas National Guard reserves through 2012.
After the Dallas County Attorney’s Office complained about Oliver’s behavior, Morris suspended the officer for 16 hours, which Oliver completed by forfeiting two sick days.
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