Updated July 20 to reflect statements by the attorneys for Jordan Edwards' family.

The fired Balch Springs police officer who fatally shot 15-year-old Jordan Edwards said in a federal court filing that he shot his rifle into a car because he was "in fear for himself and others."

Roy Oliver was charged with murder and four counts of aggravated assault by a peace officer after firing the rifle as many as five times at a car full of teenagers as it drove away from officers.

Tuesday's court filing came in response to a civil suit by Jordan's parents in a wrongful death lawsuit. It's also the first time the public has heard Oliver's version of what happened April 29.

The charges indicate prosecutors don't believe the officers' lives were in danger and the shooting was not justified. Oliver was indicted this week.

Balch Springs Police Chief Jonathan Haber, who fired Oliver, initially said Oliver shot into the car because it was backing up toward officers. He later changed his account and said the car was driving away from police.

Lee Merritt, an attorney for Jordan's family, said Oliver's response is "pure imagination. But it sounds good."

Oliver and another officer, Tyler Gross, were inside a home where teens were having a party. A 911 caller had reported that drunken teens were in the street. But the officers found no drugs or alcohol at the party. While inside the house, they heard gunshots, which were later determined to have been fired from the parking lot of a nearby nursing home.

Jordan, his two brothers and two friends decided to leave the party about the same time Oliver and Gross ran outside. Oliver went to his patrol car for his rifle as Gross moved toward where the shots were fired.

1 / 12The home where 15-year-old Jordan Edwards attended a party before he was fatally shot in the head by a police officer in Balch Springs on April 29. (Allison V. Smith / The New York Times) 2 / 12A wooden silhouette of a police officer stands in front of the Balch Springs Police and Fire Complex Monday in Balch Springs. Roy Oliver, the fired Balch Springs police officer who shot and killed 15-year-old Jordan Edwards, was indicted Monday on a murder charge by a Dallas County grand jury.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer) 3 / 12Jordan Edwards (left) with his stepmother, Charmaine Edwards, and his sister Korrie on a family trip to the beach. Jordan was shot and killed at age 15 by a Balch Springs police officer who fired his rifle into a car as Jordan, his brothers and friends drove away. The officer, Roy Oliver, was fired and arrested on a murder charge.(Edwards family) 4 / 12On May 13, Jordan Edwards' stepmother, Charmaine Edwards, held a photo of her slain son as she stood with son Vidal Allen (left) and husband Odell Edwards and other family members during a prayer outside the courthouse in Dallas.(LM Otero / The Associated Press) 5 / 12Orange spray painted circles, believed to be locations of evidence, are in the parking lot of the Balch Springs Health and Rehabilitation Center. Unrelated shots were fired in the nursing home parking lot before fired officer Roy Oliver shot and killed Jordan Edwards.(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 6 / 12Mourners hold the commemorative program as they emerge from the funeral service for Jordan Edwards, the 15-year-old shot and killed by fired Balch Springs police officer Roy Oliver. Oliver was fired and charged with murder. The funeral was at Mesquite Friendship Baptist Church in Mesquite on May 6, 2017. (Louis DeLuca / Staff Photographer) 7 / 12The welcome sign for Balch Springs is not far from the scene where now-fired officer Roy Oliver shot and killed 15-year-old Jordan Edwards.(Vernon Bryant / Staff Photographer) 8 / 12Balch Springs Officer Tyler Gross (right) with Police Chief Jonathan Haber. Gross was the 2016 Balch Springs officer of the year. Gross was with now-fired Officer Roy Oliver the night Oliver shot and killed Jordan Edwards, 15.(Courtesy / Facebook) 9 / 12A small memorial can be found on Shepherd Lane near Baron Driver, near where 15-year-old Jordan Edwards was shot by fired Balch Springs police officer Roy Oliver. (Ron Baselice / Staff Photographer) 10 / 12A car drives past the approximate location of where 15-year-old Jordan Edwards was shot by now-fired Balch Springs police officer Roy Oliver. Edwards was shot and killed by police officer Roy Oliver while Edwards, his brother and two friends were driving away from officers on April 29. Jordan was sitting in the passenger seat of the car. (Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 11 / 12Balch Springs Police Chief Jonathan Haber spoke at a news conference in May after the shooting death of Jordan Edwards. Haber's actions from before he became police chief are the subject of a lawsuit against him and another officer, Sgt. James Young.(Rose Baca / Staff Photographer) 12 / 12Jordan Edwards' stepmother Charmaine Edwards and father Odell Edwards, at right, listen as Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson announces that a grand jury indicted fired Balch Springs officer Roy Oliver at on a murder charge for Jordan's death and four additional charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon by a public servant. The news conference was held Monday, July 17 at the Frank Crowley Courts Building in Dallas. Jordan Edwards was killed in the April 29 in Balch Springs. Also pictured is First Assistant District Attorney First Assistant Mike Snipes. (Louis DeLuca / Staff Photographer)

The black Chevrolet Impala backed up from Baron Drive to Shepherd Lane. The car, driven by one of Jordan's brothers, couldn't move forward because Baron was blocked by patrol cars. Gross yelled for the car to stop.

Oliver said in his court filing that the driver of the car did not respond and Gross ran toward the vehicle.

Oliver says the car "accelerated in the direction of the closing officers. Officer Gross raised and pointed his service weapon at the vehicle, he continued to command the vehicle to stop." Then the Impala passed the officers.

"As the vehicle encounters the closing Officer Gross, his weapon is pointed at the car. The vehicle is within inches of Officer Gross. Officer Oliver is approximately 10 [feet] to 15 [feet] southwest of the car and Gross. Oliver's weapon is pointed at the car. Officer Oliver saw movement in the car," the filing says. "From his peripheral vision, Oliver sees Gross move his weapon towards the rear passenger side window. Oliver hears violence/breaking glass at Gross' location; and in fear for himself and others, Oliver fires his weapon into the car."

The sound Oliver heard was Gross breaking the window with his gun.

Jordan, a ninth-grader who made good grades and played football, was sitting in the front passenger seat. One of Oliver's bullets struck him in the head.

No one else in the car was injured, and the boys did not have any weapons.

Oliver also alleged in the court filing that one or more of the boys had fired a gun and were affiliated with a gang, which attorneys for Jordan's family denied Thursday. Police and prosecutors have not released any details of the investigation that support the allegations. The Dallas County district attorney's office declined to comment.

"It's a play on stereotype," Merritt said. "It's a play on racism."

Merritt said that only Jordan was tested for gunshot residue. Any positive test, Merritt said, would be because Oliver touched Jordan after the shooting. Merritt said Oliver should not have touched Jordan afterward, and should have been separated from the investigation.

"It only makes sense they would find it," Merritt said.

If the test showed a low level, that would indicate a transfer of gunshot residue from Oliver to Jordan.

"They were not affiliated with anything bad," attorney Daryl Washington, who also represents the family, said of the youths. "The truth doesn't change."

Attorneys Jasmine Crockett and Lee Merritt, who represent the family of Jordan Edwards. (Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)

Another attorney for the family, Jasmine Crockett, said Oliver merely intended "to sully the memory of Jordan Edwards."

The attorneys said the upside for them is that Oliver has now committed to his version of events and can't change it. But they worry about the impact Oliver's allegations will have on potential jurors in the criminal case.

"We are concerned with this narrative and how it shapes public opinion," Merritt said.

Oliver also was indicted last month on two charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after allegations that he pulled a gun on a woman and her sister after a road-rage incident two weeks before Jordan's death.

No trial dates have been set. He faces up to life in prison.

Oliver had been with the department for six years. He was also in the Army and served in the Middle East.