Officer in Texas who shot and killed black teenager fired

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last updated 3 May 2017

The Texas police officer who shot and killed a black teenager on Saturday night as he drove away from a party has been fired, Balch Springs Police Chief Jonathan Haber announced Tuesday.

Without elaborating, Haber also said that the officer, Roy Oliver, who joined the department in 2011, violated several departmental policies during the incident. Jordan Edwards, 15, was shot in the head and later died at a hospital after Oliver fired multiple rounds from a rifle into the vehicle he was riding in. Edwards, two of his brothers, and friends had been at a party in the Dallas suburb when police arrived due to noise complaints. The police originally said the officers were inside when they heard gunshots outside, and that caused people to flee the scene. The car Edwards was in was backing up toward officers in an "aggressive manner," police claimed, and Oliver was giving verbal commands to stop, but when the car kept going, he opened fire.

On Monday, Haber said this was an inaccurate description of events, and after viewing dash-cam footage, it was apparent the car was driving away when Oliver opened fire. "I made a mistake and I apologized for it," Haber said Tuesday. Edwards' family said in a statement they are glad Oliver was fired and thanked Haber for his "commendable strides toward justice," but said there "remains a long road ahead."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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