Cop Who Killed Teenager Jordan Edwards Has Been Indicted for Murder

By Rafi Schwartz  |  July 17, 2017 | 7:54pm
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The white former Texas police officer who shot and killed 15-year-old Jordan Edwards this past spring was indicted for murder by a grand jury on Monday.

The indictment comes nearly three months after the then-Balch Springs police officer Roy Oliver fired an AR-15 rifle into a car of teens leaving a party on April 29. Oliver was let go from the BSPD several days later, after Chief Jonathan Haber reviewed footage of the incident and determined that the car had been driving away from officer Oliver, and not backing up toward him, as he’d initially claimed.

Edwards, a high school freshman with a 3.5 GPA, had been at the party with his two brothers and two friends, all of whom were in the car with him when Oliver fired the fatal shots. According to the Dallas Morning News, Oliver and another officer had been called to the party over reports of drugs and alcohol, but neither was found at the scene.

In addition to the murder indictment, Oliver was also indicted on four charges of aggravated assault—one for each of the other passengers in the car with Edwards.

Oliver was charged with murder shortly after Edwards’ death, and had turned himself into authorities in early May.

Oliver’s lawyer has not responded to requests for comments from both the Morning News and the Associated Press.

On Facebook, attorney Lee Merrit—identified by the New York Times as representing Edwards’ family—was cautiously optimistic about the indictment, writing: “A murder indictment for Roy Oliver is appropriate but the fact is it’s been +40 years since a cop was convicted in TX.”

In addition to the indictment, Edwards’ mother, Shaunkeyia Stephens, filed to join a lawsuit in June, against the city of Balch Springs and Oliver himself. The suit alleges both that Oliver was poorly trained by the city, as well as that the city initially participated in a cover up of her son’s death.

According to the Morning News, Oliver is currently out on $700,000 bail. No date for his trial has been set yet.

 
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