30 SHARES Share Tweet

Murder Trial For Former Balch Springs Officer Who Killed Jordan Edwards Set To Begin Today in Dallas

The murder trial for a former Balch Springs police officer Roy Oliver who killed 15-year-old Jordan Edwards is set to begin Thursday in Dallas. This case has continued the conversation that many Black people in America have been having since the police started in this country.

Police shootings and the role of video evidence have started a nationwide conversation and triggered protests over issues of how Black people are handled by law enforcement.

Oliver, opened fire last May into a moving vehicle filled with five Black teenagers, killing Edwards who was a high school freshman. Oliver, 38 had been working for the Balch Springs Police Department since 2011 but was fired after the fatal shooting.

The trial is set to begin today in Dallas, but yesterday Oliver’s attorneys filed an emergency stay to delay its start. A spokesperson for the Dallas County district attorney’s office said the trial is expected to last about two weeks according to NBC 5. Despite Oliver’s attorneys’ last-minute attempt to delay the trial, a jury is set to hear opening arguments in a Dallas County courtroom The Washington Post reported.

After the fatal shooting, the initial report provided by the Balch Springs Police Department. Police first said the car backed up toward officers “in an aggressive manner.” However, police later reported video showed the vehicle was moving forward as officers, after responding to a report of underage drinking at a house party, approached. This statement contradicted their original statement on the incident.

Gal Pissetzky, a Chicago defense attorney, told NBC 5 he does not see any downsides for prosecutors heading into the case, particularly because it will be heard in front of a jury instead of a judge. Judges, he said, often seem more lenient to police officers.

Also a criminologist at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, who tracks police shootings Philip Stinson said officers can testify they were in fear for their life, and jurors are often reluctant to second-guess the decisions of an officer faced with an intense street encounter.

According to Stinson’s count, there have been 93 non-federal law enforcement officers since 2005 arrested for murder or manslaughter in on-duty fatal shootings as of Monday. Often times even when there is video evidence, prosecutors can fail to deliver a conviction against an officer, he said.

“Video alone is not (going to) win the case for prosecutors,” Stinson said.

Although video evidence cannot be changed in any way, Pissetzky said defense attorneys can try to change the way jurors perceive the video by telling the story through an officer’s point of view.

“Even a video can be watched in a couple of different ways,” Pissetzky said.

In this particular case, Oliver’s attorneys have stated Edwards’ death was a tragedy, but that evidence will show Oliver “reacted properly.” Oliver said he and his partner feared for their lives when a car full of Black teens sped past them according to federal court records.

Oliver does have a history of hostile behavior and “flipped off” the vehicle that held Edwards’ body following the shooting, according to court filings from the Dallas County district attorney’s office tied to the criminal case KERA News reported. The court filing goes on today Oliver, while in 8th grade, posted swastikas in public places, hated anyone who was not Caucasian and was also a member of the group “Caucasians in Effect.”

In 2013, Oliver was “uncooperative and used profanity” while testifying in the trial, according to the court records, and “communicated aggressively” and used profanity with prosecutors. Oliver’s legal troubles, however, don’t just end Oliver has been indicted in a separate 2017 incident in which police said he drew a weapon after he was rear-ended while off duty.

SEE ALSO: Notable Black News Stories From The 1990’s

SEE ALSO: Duck Boat Survivor Tia Coleman: ‘It’s not a home anymore’

Copyright ©2018 The Black Detour All Rights Reserved.