15 Year Old Jordan Edwards Killed By Police Officer

We knew the police body cameras would show the good, the bad, and the ugly. With this situation in Balch Springs, Dallas it exposed the truth in the death of a teen by the hands of a police officer.

The Dallas, Texas suburb was rocked by the death of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards who was shot in the head by a police officer this past Saturday. 

The officer initially stated he fired his rifle into the car where Jordan was a passenger because the car was going in reverse in an “aggressive manner” toward the officers. However, the Balch Springs Chief of Police, Jonathan Harbor said Monday that the body cameras show a different account from what the officer originally stated.

The video shows the car moving forward as the officers approached the vehicle. Harbor said he would not release the video or go into detail of what he saw but he did say he was troubled and admitted the footage contradicts his first report.

Jordan was at a party Saturday where police responded to a 911 call for underage drinking. He got into a vehicle with four of his friends to leave when police pulled up to investigate the underage drinking call and that’s when things went left.

Jordan Edwards death has been ruled a homicide. He was a student athlete, had stellar attendance, and  a 3.5 GPA. Police did not find any weapons in the car and there was no indication he or any of the other teens were drinking.

Lee Merritt, the family’s attorney said the change in the police departments account is a hopeful sign there will be transparency in the investigation. Merritt and the Edwards family want the officer terminated and criminally charged.

The fact that the police department came clean so to speak is a good start but the sad fact is if there were no body cameras on the responding officers we would not know the truth.

Source: Associated Press