A white former North Texas police officer accused of killing a black teenager leaving a party in April responded to to the charges for which he was indicted.
Former Balch Springs police officer Roy Oliver, 37, was indicted on a charge of murder in connection with the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards.
In a response issued by Oliver and his attorneys Tuesday, Oliver denied the allegations against him and said his actions the night of the shooting were reasonable and not clearly excessive. The document goes on to state Oliver felt he was in imminent danger and his response was necessary.
Oliver was fired in May for violating department policies after officials reviewed body camera footage of the the shooting that showed Oliver shooting his rifle into a moving vehicle that was traveling away from him and another officer. Edwards, a high school freshman, was struck in the head.
Police had been investigating an underage drinking complaint at the party in Balch Springs when they heard unrelated gunshots and spotted a black Chevy Impala leaving. According to Oliver's account, he and a colleague — Officer Tyler Gross — repeatedly told the driver to stop, but the driver refused.
Oliver's account indicated he said saw Gross "move his weapon towards the rear passenger side window." Oliver feared for himself and others and fired his weapon into the car.
The Dallas County Sheriff's Department charged Oliver with murder in May, less than a week after the shooting. Oliver turned himself in and posted bond.
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Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson said Oliver also was indicted on four charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon by a public official related to the other four teens who were in the car.
Last month, Oliver was indicted on two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon by a public servant in an unrelated incident, where he is accused of displaying a gun during a traffic accident. Oliver was off duty in Dallas when another vehicle rear-ended his and, according to a police report, he pulled his service weapon and kept it pointed at the ground.
A Dallas officer who responded to that incident didn't file charges, but officials with the district attorney's office said last month that it "showed a pattern of behavior."
