A Dallas County grand jury on Monday indicted Roy Oliver, the fired Balch Springs police officer who shot and killed 15-year-old Jordan Edwards, on a murder charge. Oliver was also charged with four counts of aggravated assault, for the four other teenagers in the car with Edwards when Oliver shot a rifle into the vehicle as it drove away from a party on April 29.
Oliver, who has since been fired from the police department, faces two other assault charges connected to a separate road rage incident, in which he is accused of threatening two people with a gun. He’s currently out of jail on a $700,000 bond.
The indictment was a relatively long time coming, although convictions of officers charged with murder or manslaughter remain rare.
Update: Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson held a press conference on the charges against Oliver. Channel 8 carried it live in a Facebook stream:
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According to Johnson, a jury trial for Oliver looks likely. “I have a personal guarantee to Jordan, his family, this community, that we will prosecute this case vigorously,” Johnson said. “This to me is the first step to healing this community and hopefully rebuilding the community.”
The former state district judge, who was appointed DA by Gov. Greg Abbott in December, promised accountability. “Dallas County, under the leadership of Faith Johnson, is committed to making certain that fairness and justice is done for everyone,” she said. A Republican in a blue county, Johnson will have to defend her seat in an election in 2018.
