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Texas Police Shoot and Kill Student, 15 Police Account Changes in Killing of Texas 15-Year-Old
(about 5 hours later)
Investigators in a Dallas suburb on Monday were examining body camera footage to piece together the events leading up to an officer’s fatal shooting of a 15-year-old high school student over the weekend, a spokesman said. As family and friends mourned the death of a 15-year-old boy shot in the head by a police officer in a Dallas suburb over the weekend, the police chief said Monday that new evidence showed the killing did not unfold the way the authorities had originally claimed.
Jordan Edwards, a freshman at Mesquite High School in Balch Springs, was shot while a passenger in a vehicle on Saturday night, police and school officials said. The Police Department in Balch Springs, Tex., said Sunday that the officer, whose name has not been released, fired on a car carrying the teenager, Jordan Edwards, a freshman at Mesquite High School in Balch Springs, because the car was reversing down a street toward the officer in an “aggressive manner.”
According to a police statement, officers were responding to a 911 call reporting drunken young people when they heard gunfire from an “unknown altercation,” and then a car backed down the street toward them in an “aggressive manner.” But Jonathan Haber, the police chief, told reporters at a news conference on Monday afternoon that video showed the opposite. He said the officer fired when the car was “moving forward as the officers approached,” according to The Associated Press. The Dallas County medical examiner’s report ruled the death a homicide caused by a “rifle wound” to the head.
The statement said an officer opened fire, striking a front seat passenger, who died from his injuries at a hospital. Lee Merritt, a lawyer for the Edwards family, praised the police chief for his willingness to admit the department’s mistake and called the new account “a big deal.”
“We still don’t have all the facts,” Officer Pedro Gonzalez, a spokesman for the Balch Springs Police Department, said in a brief telephone interview. “There were no weapons involved; there was no aggressive behavior; these were not suspects,” Mr. Merritt said in a telephone interview. “The lone motive they had for the murder was that the vehicle was being used as a weapon, and now that is no longer there.”
He said body camera footage from officers who were at the shooting was being examined by the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department and police department investigators. He declined to answer further questions but said more information was likely to be released on Monday as officers were given a chance to “decompress” and be interviewed. Efforts to reach officials with the Police Department after Monday’s news conference were unsuccessful.
The police did not immediately release the child’s name in its statement, published on Sunday and sent by email on Monday. But the victim was identified by friends and family in local media reports. Mr. Merritt called the change in the department’s account “a hopeful sign” about the transparency of the investigation, but he said the authorities needed to do more.
A Dallas County Medical Examiner’s report obtained on Monday ruled the death a homicide caused by a “rifle wound” to the head. “They have a dead child, they have the identity of the shooter, and they have no explanation for the shooting,” Mr. Merritt said. “They have more than sufficient probable cause to make an arrest.”
On Monday, the Mesquite Independent School District released a photograph of Jordan, who was in the ninth grade. “He was a good student who was very well liked by his teachers, coaches and his fellow students,” according to the district. “The entire district — especially the staff and students of Mesquite High School — are mourning this terrible loss.” Jordan, a popular football player, was killed shortly after leaving a party with a group of friends on Saturday night. The police said in a statement on Sunday that officers were in the area responding to a 911 call complaining about drunken young people.
Lee Merritt, an attorney for the Edwards family, told a local television station that there was no aggression from the vehicle and none of the occupants were armed. “They were simply leaving a party where they believed danger was, so I can’t wrap my mind around why an officer decided to shoot into the car,” said Mr. Merritt, according to WFAA. The statement said officers fired on the car after they heard gunfire from an “unknown altercation.” Jordan, a passenger, was shot in the head and later died from his injuries at a hospital.
He did not immediately return a telephone call on Monday. The shooting has unnerved Balch Springs, a city of about 23,000 people that lies about 15 miles east of downtown Dallas. The Mesquite Independent School District said Mr. Edwards “was a good student who was very well liked by his teachers, coaches and his fellow students.”
The shooting has unnerved Balch Springs, a city of about 23,000 people that lies about 15 miles east of downtown Dallas. On Sunday, coaches and community members showed up at a news conference demanding answers from the authorities and expressing frustration over a lack of information, WFAA reported. “The entire district — especially the staff and students of Mesquite High School — are mourning this terrible loss,” the district said.
“Great kid. Awesome parents. He was not a thug. This shouldn’t happen to him,” said Chris Cano, whose son played football with Jordan, according to the station. Chris Cano, whose son played football with Jordan, told a local television station, WFAA, that he was a “great kid.”
The first day of spring football practice at Mesquite High School was canceled on Monday because Jordan, all 150 pounds and nearly six-feet-tall of him, would not be walking onto the field for warm-ups and drills. “Awesome parents,” Mr. Cano said. “He was not a thug. This shouldn’t happen to him.”
The first day of spring football practice at Mesquite High School was canceled on Monday because Jordan, who weighed 150 pounds and was nearly six-feet-tall, would not be walking onto the field for warm-ups and drills.
His teammates are grieving, said Jeff Fleener, the coach of the high school team, called the Skeeters. Sheer athleticism aside, Jordan’s “big smile” would be missed by his team, Mr. Fleener said in a telephone interview on Monday.His teammates are grieving, said Jeff Fleener, the coach of the high school team, called the Skeeters. Sheer athleticism aside, Jordan’s “big smile” would be missed by his team, Mr. Fleener said in a telephone interview on Monday.
“I met Jordan on day one and learned his name very quickly just because of the type of kid he was,” said Mr. Fleener. “I met Jordan on Day 1 and learned his name very quickly just because of the type of kid he was,” Mr. Fleener said.
He said Jordan was a committed athlete who was often seen either working out in the weight room or surrounded by the camaraderie of teammates in the locker room and on the field. He had aspirations to play college football, and was trying out for the team’s defensive position, Mr. Fleener said. He said Jordan was a committed athlete who was often seen either working out in the weight room or surrounded by the camaraderie of teammates in the locker room and on the field. He had aspirations to play college football and was trying out for the team’s defensive position, Mr. Fleener said.
“He was tall and strong, a guy that spent a lot of time in the weight room to make himself better, bigger and stronger,” Mr. Fleener said. “The big thing is he was not scared to come hit somebody on the football field. Off the field, his big smile lit up a room, but he knew how to flip that switch on the field and play with some physicality.”“He was tall and strong, a guy that spent a lot of time in the weight room to make himself better, bigger and stronger,” Mr. Fleener said. “The big thing is he was not scared to come hit somebody on the football field. Off the field, his big smile lit up a room, but he knew how to flip that switch on the field and play with some physicality.”
“He was everybody’s friend — his attitude and smile, everything was just contagious about him. He was excellent — 3.5 GPA, never in trouble, no attendance issues,” said Mr. Fleener. “He was a kid that did everything right.” “He was everybody’s friend — his attitude and smile, everything was just contagious about him. He was excellent — 3.5 G.P.A., never in trouble, no attendance issues,” said Mr. Fleener. “He was a kid that did everything right.”
Officer Pedro Gonzalez, a spokesman for the Police Department, said in a brief phone interview early Monday that the officers involved in the episode ad been wearing body cameras. Mr. Gonzalez said they would be interviewed after they had been given a chance to “decompress.”
Body camera footage has been crucial in investigations of police shootings in the United States, particularly in cases involving black victims and white officers that have fueled racial discord in communities.