Wrongful death suit claims cop who killed Jordan Edwards had ‘short fuse’
Former Balch Springs police officer Roy Oliver, who was fired after fatally shooting 15-year-old Jordan Edwards, is now being sued by Jordan's father.
Former Balch Springs police officer Roy Oliver, who was fired after fatally shooting unarmed 15-year-old Jordan Edwards, is now being sued by Jordan’s father.
Odell Edwards, in a wrongful death suit, is claiming that the Balch Springs Police Department did not properly supervise or discipline Oliver, who was known for a “short fuse” and names both Oliver and the department in the suit.
The suit cited an incident on April 16, two weeks before Jordan Edwards was killed, in which Oliver pulled a gun on a woman who rear-ended him. The woman, Monique Arredondo, did not know Oliver was a cop and called police when he refused to put the gun away after she asked him to.
“Defendant Oliver refused, began to yell, became very upset, and never identified himself as an officer,” documents state.
He was also reprimanded for being “disrespectful to a civilian on a call” but not disciplined, and in December 2013, he was suspended for only 16 hours for his behavior. All these incidents added up, the suits claims, show that Oliver’s behavior was not being addressed or stopped.
Oliver shot and killed Jordan Edwards when he was in a car leaving a party, and the former officer is now facing possible murder charges for his death.
“There was no reason that any person in America — not just a black person — should ever have to bury their 15-year-old child who was doing everything right in life,” said Jasmine Crockett, a lawyer for Jordan’s family, on Sunday.
