Jordan Edwards, 15, Shot and Killed By Texas Police Officer
Jordan Edwards, 15, was killed in a Dallas-Forth Worth suburb after a police officer shot into a car full of teenagers on Saturday night.
Balch Springs police Chief Jonathan Haber said that officers were responding to a call of drunken teenagers. They reportedly heard gunshots. When the officers arrived they encountered the car full of teenagers. They said the young people were driving “in an aggressive manner”, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Officers then shot Edwards. He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
“On behalf of the entire Balch Springs Police Department, and the city of Balch Springs we express our deep, sincere condolences to the family,” said Haber. “We will continue to reach out to the parents and keep them informed as we move forward from this point.”
Edwards’ family told the Morning News that he was leaving a party with friends after hearing the same gunshots as the police.
Attorney Lee Merritt says the parents of the Mesquite High School freshman are asking that the officer who shot him be arrested and charged. The name of the officer is yet to be released. Though, it has been confirmed they’ve been placed on routine administrative leave.
Haber hasn’t confirmed whether or not there were any weapons in the vehicle. But none of the teens have been charged with a crime. Merritt says that they weren’t even the teens the officers were looking for.
Another family ripped apart by police brutality. There was absolutely no justification for this murder. We demand justice! #InjusticeInHD pic.twitter.com/XsL0cDxQ1L
— Lee Merritt (@MerrittForTexas) April 30, 2017
As the family prepares to bury their child they must combat false claims of under-aged drinking & fabrications about “aggressive” behavior
— Lee Merritt (@MerrittForTexas) May 1, 2017
The Dallas County District Attorney’s Office and the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department has taken over the investigation into Edwards’ death.
Edwards’ death is now the second instance where police have used questionable force in the Dallas-Fort Worth area to reach the public. The first involved an officer forcing a woman and her daughters to the ground after she called police because a neighbor struck her son. Merritt is also representing that family.