The death of unarmed black teens at the hands of white police officers is hardly a rare story. Over the past few years, it's been a story that's been more evident than ever in the news. Although it's rare that the families of the victims see justice, Dallas County jurors have found former Texas police officer Roy Oliver guilty of murdering 15-year-old unarmed black teen Jordan Edwards last year.
Dallas County jury has found Roy Oliver guilty of the murder of Jordan Edwards. Back in 2017, Oliver and his partner, Tyler Gross, responded to calls of underage drinking at a house party. As Edwards and his friends were leaving the party, Oliver claimed that he only fired his gun because he saw the car moving towards his partner and feared for his life. After Oliver opened fire on the car, he murdered Jordan Edwards who was only a freshmen at the time of his death. Two days later, he was fired from the Balch Springs Police Department.
According to the Associated Press, gasps were heard throughout the court room after the verdict was read and Edwards' family cried and hugged prosecutors.
Following the verdict, Jordan Edward's father made a brief statement outside of the court.
"I just want to say I'm happy, very happy. It had been a long time [and] a hard year. I'm just really happy." He said.
Despite Oliver's claim that he believed the car was going to hit his partner and felt he had no other choice than to shoot, his partner, Tyler Gross testified that he didn't feel his life was in danger and felt no need that firing a weapon was necessary. He also said that he didn't feel like the car was going to hit him. The jurors took two days before they came out with a guilty verdict.