Jury selection process begins for ex-cop charged with murder

Source: Associated Press


Ryan Tarinelli, Associated Press
Updated 5:39 pm, Friday, June 15, 2018

DALLAS (AP) — The jury selection process began Friday in the trial of a white former suburban Dallas police officer charged with murder after fatally shooting a black teenager.

Former Balch Springs officer Roy Oliver fired into a moving car occupied by five black teenagers in April 2017, striking and killing 15-year-old Jordan Edwards, prosecutors said. Oliver opened fire as the vehicle was driving away. Police initially said the vehicle was reversing "in an aggressive manner" toward officers, but Balch Springs Police Chief Jonathan Haber later said that video taken at the scene proved the vehicle was actually driving away from the officers.

In court filings, Oliver has said he and his partner were in fear for their lives when the vehicle occupied by the teens sped past them.

Oliver was fired for violating department policies and a grand jury last year indicted him on a murder charge, along with four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon by a public servant.

Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/texas/article/Jury-selection-process-begins-for-ex-cop-charged-12998702.php