Murder trial to start for Texas officer who shot teen in car
DALLAS (AP) — A murder trial for a former Texas police officer who killed a black teenager highlights the heightened role video evidence plays in high-profile police shootings that have stirred discourse and triggered protests nationwide over issues of race and law enforcement.
Former Balch Springs officer Roy Oliver, who is white, opened fire last year into a moving car filled with five black teens, killing 15-year-old high school freshman Jordan Edwards. Oliver, 38, joined the department in 2011 and was fired after the fatal shooting, an incident that was thrust into a national conversation on the shooting of African-Americans by police.