Texas Grand Jury Indicts Cop Who Killed Unarmed Black Teen Jordan Edwards

Last spring, another young, black life was added to the endless list of unarmed black people killed by police, when Texas teenager Jordan Edwards was fatally shot in the head as he sat in the passenger side of a car after attending a party. Now, almost three months later, the cop who shot him is finally being indicted by a grand jury.

Now almost three months later, the cop who shot him is finally being indicted by a grand jury.

Former Texas police officer Roy Oliver fired the fatal shot to the head that killed unarmed 15-year-old Jordan Edwards on April 29, 2017. After being booked for the shooting in early May, he has since been out on $700,000 bail.

From the Huffington Post.

Lee Merritt, a lawyer representing the [Jordan] Edwards’ family, greeted the news of Monday’s indictment with cautious optimism. “A murder indictment for Roy Oliver is appropriate,” Merritt wrote on Twitter, “but the fact is it’s been +40 years since a cop was convicted in TX.”

Oliver initially claimed the car, driven by one of Edwards’ brothers, had reversed into the officers, justifying his decision to open fire on the Chevy Impala. The Balch Springs Police Department later changed that account, however, after video of the incident showed the teenagers were actually driving away from Oliver when he fired multiple rounds into the packed car.

Compounding matters, Merritt said, the officers on the scene failed to respond properly after the shooting, roughing up the teenagers instead of providing medical attention. “They were immediately treated as common criminals by other officers; manhandled, intimidated and arrested while their brother lay dying in the front seat,” he said.

As it’s still quite early in the indictment process, no trial date for Oliver has been set at press time. If he is found guilty of murdering Jordan Edwards, he will face the maximum sentence, which is life in prison.

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