Arlington Chief Promises Transparency In Shooting Investigation
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ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) - The Arlington police chief promises transparency in the investigation of the shooting death of 19-year-old Christian Taylor by one of his rookie officers.
Taylor was shot and killed by Officer Brad Miller early Friday morning inside an Arlington car dealership that Taylor, a sophomore football player at Angelo State University, had broken into.
Newly released security camera footage recorded before police arrived at the car dealership shows Taylor kicking in a car windshield, jumping up and down on cars, and then driving his SUV through a glass wall into the lobby of the dealership.
It was inside the dealership that Arlington police say officers first spotted Taylor and ordered him to the ground.
"As officers stood outside the building, they may verbal contact with Mr. Taylor through the glass wall – instructing him to lie on the ground," said Police Chief Will Johnson. " Mr. Taylor was not compliant."
The police chief said two of his officers, a veteran officer and rookie Officer Brad Miller, made contact with Taylor in another showroom. There an "altercation" occurred between the two officers and the unarmed teenagers occurred.
Police say Miller fired four shots killing Taylor.
The other officer fired his Taser, although; according to the police chief investigators have not determined if he did so before Miller fired his gun or even if the Taser struck Taylor.
Miller was placed on administrative leave after the shooting.
Police say the officer had never before fired his weapon in the line of duty.
The police chief stressed his department will be as transparent as possible with its investigation.
During the conference Saturday night, Johnson said his department would release audio from the 911 call in the next 7 to 10 days.
A special FBI agent in charge of the Dallas field office will take part in the probe. Johnson stressed it "in no way diminishes my confidence" in local officers to conduct the investigation.
Johnson said he realized this shooting will be mentioned with other police-involved shootings involving white officers and young black men.
"This incident has not occurred in isolation," he said. "It has occurred as our national has been wrestling with the topics of social injustice, inequalities, racism, and police misconduct."
Some of the nationwide criticism of police use of force in the last year has happened online, and Taylor's death resonated on social media, with some posts questioning the official account and calling for video to be released.
Miller, 49, has been with the Arlington Police Department since last September and has been working under the supervision of a training officer since his graduation from the police academy in March, according to police. Miller had no police experience before joining the Arlington police force.
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