The police officer who fatally shot Jordan Edwards, a 15-year-old black boy from Dallas, Texas, turned himself in for arrest on a murder charge Friday night. The officer, Roy Oliver, who is white, was released on bail set at $300,000. He was fired from his job earlier this week and now faces life in prison if convicted.
Oliver was one of three officers called to investigate underage drinking at a party Edwards was attending with his two brothers. Around the time the police arrived, a gunshot was heard somewhere nearby. Edwards, his brothers, and several other teens got into a car to leave the party, and Oliver repeatedly fired on the vehicle. One of his bullets struck Edwards in the head, killing him.
Oliver initially claimed he acted defensively because the car was aggressively reversing in his direction, but body camera footage revealed it was driving away from him. All the teenagers inside were unarmed.
Edwards is the youngest of 339 people fatally shot by police in America in 2017 so far, according to a count maintained by The Washington Post.