Dallas

Fired Balch Springs Officer Who Killed Jordan Edwards Faces Murder Charge

Family of Jordan Edwards files wrongful death lawsuit against city, police department, former officer

A fired Balch Springs police officer has been released on bond after he surrendered to authorities Friday to face a murder warrant in the shooting of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards.

Roy Oliver posted a $300,000 bond after he was booked at the Parker County Jail in Weatherford, about 95 miles west of Dallas.

A fired Balch Springs police officer has been released on bond after he surrendered to authorities Friday to face a murder warrant in the shooting of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards.

"I was elated," said Edwards family attorney, Jasmin Crockett. "We've seen this play out so many times in so many cities across America. So in less than a week, we have an officer that got fired, we have an officer that has an arrest warrant."

Lee Merritt, another attorney for the Edwards family, said the family has now filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Oliver, the Balch Springs Police Department and the city of Balch Springs.

On Saturday, Jordan Edwards mother Shaunkeyia Stephens released a statement.

"I was driving home. It was on the radio," said Balch Springs Police Chief Jonathan Haber, explaining how he heard the news. "This is a horrific tragedy we know that the Edwards family is grieving. We're in a lot of pain over here, too."

The chief said he didn't get a heads-up on the arrest warrant because he asked for an independent, transparent investigation, and that's how it's supposed to work.

The shooting occurred around 11 p.m. last Saturday as officers responded to a 911 call reporting intoxicated teens walking around in the 12300 block of Baron Drive.

Balch Springs police originally said the vehicle in which Edwards was riding backed up toward officers "in an aggressive manner." But Chief Haber said Monday that police video shows the vehicle was instead "moving forward as the officers approached."

Haber wouldn't release the police video or describe it in detail other than to acknowledge he erred in describing the encounter, but he said he was troubled by what he saw.

"It did not meet our core values. We have a certain set of values, and it did not meet our values," Haber added.

Oliver was later fired from the police department.

Investigators say evidence suggests Oliver "intended to cause serious bodily injury and commit an act clearly dangerous to human life that caused the death of an individual," according to the warrant.

"If there's something to learn, let's learn it, but let's not learn it as individuals," Haber said. "Let's learn as a group and push that message out together."

The Dallas County Sheriff's Office said Friday that its investigation into Edwards' death will continue.

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