Source: Don Hammond / Getty
A white former police officer was found guilty of murder Tuesday in the April 2017 shooting of an African American teenager and could face up to life in prison.
Roy Oliver had testified that he was defending his partner when he fired into a car leaving a house party in the Dallas suburb of Balch Springs. Jordan Edwards, 15, a freshman honor roll student who was sitting in the front passenger seat, was killed instantly.
The incident became a flash point in North Texas and nationally, reigniting concerns about racism and police brutality. Oliver is the second former officer in Dallas County to be found guilty of murder this year in connection with a civilian’s death.
More than a dozen uniformed police officers lined the walls of the packed courtroom as the verdict was read. The jury, which deliberated for 13 hours, found Oliver guilty of murder but not guilty of two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon by a public servant.
