Teens who witnessed Jordan Edwards’ death pleaded with other cops to spare them
In dashcam footage, the stepbrother of a suburban Dallas teen killed by a cop as he tried to leave a party pleaded to officers for help despite it being too late
“Please help us. He’s dead. Please don’t shoot me,” Vidal Allen, the stepbrother of Jordan Edwards can be heard tearfully shouting to a police officer.
In the car with Allen and three other teens was the lifeless body of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards, who had just been killed by former Balch Springs, Tex., officer Roy Oliver, who fired as many as five times into a car full of high-schoolers
The stunning dash-camera footage was played for jurors during the emotional opening day of Oliver’s murder trial in a Dallas County courtroom, the Dallas Morning News reported.
Oliver, 38, is facing homicide charges in connection with the April 2017 shooting death of Edwards who was leaving a party with a bunch of friends when they encountered him and another officer, Tyler Gross, who had responded to a 911 call. Upon hearing gunshots while at the home they were called to, they ran out to stop a black Chevrolet Impala in the midst of this, Oliver fired his patrol rifle into the vehicle, fatally striking Jordan.
Oliver would later say he feared the car was going to hit his partner. But Gross has testified that he didn’t think he would be hit by the car at all.
In the clip, the teens are told to get out of the car one at a time with their hands up, then ordered to walk backward to police officers and sit on their knees as they’re handcuffed.
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As this the teens get out of the car, fearing for their lives, Oliver checked for vital signs on Jordan’s body. The officer was fired shortly after the shooting and is also on trial for two counts of aggravated assault by a public servant.
According to video analyst Grant Fredericks, Oliver fired each of the five shots in less than a second and it was the second shot the killed Edwards. That’s when one of the teens in the vehicle flagged down Officer Jeremy Chamblee, who was responding to a call about gunshots.
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Chamblee had to do a felony traffic stop on the car because it matched the description of a suspect vehicle. But he waited for other officers to arrive before making the minors step out with their hands up.
It was his dash-cam footage that played Monday, showing the terror those boys were experiencing in that moment. In the video the teenagers are heard yelling for help and repeatedly begging for their lives.
Chamblee ordered the teens to stay in the vehicle, and get their hands out. They complied. One teen, Vidal Allen, Edwards stepbrother, begged: “Please, sir, my little brother’s dying.”
“He’s bleeding out,” Allen said.
“Is your brother breathing?” asked Chamblee.
“No. He’s dead!” Allen said.
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Allen, who is now 18, was only 16 at the time and driving his brothers, Jordan and Kevon Edwards, and their friends, twin brothers Maximus and Maxwell Evertte.
Once he was handcuffed, he asked Chamblee to pray with him.
“He was asking God to watch over his brother,” Chamblee testified. “I remember he mentioned he was supposed to supervise his brother at the party.”
Chamblee also clarified in court that although handcuffed, the boys were never under arrest.
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