Texas

Officer who fatally shot teen had once been suspended

Associated Press
Published | Updated

This undated family photo provided by Edwards family attorney Lee Merritt shows Jordan Edwards, left, posing for a photo with his father, Odell Edwards. The family of the black teenager shot and killed by a white police officer while riding in a vehicle leaving a party wants criminal charges filed against the officer, who was fired for violating department policies during the shooting. Balch Springs police Officer Roy Oliver was fired three days after 15-year-old Jordan Edwards' death. (Courtesy of Lee Merritt/Edwards family via AP) (The Associated Press)

A sign sits in welcome to those entering Balch Springs, Texas, Wednesday, May 3, 2017. As the family of a black teenager slain by a white police officer calls for an indictment and more investigation, the Dallas suburb where he died faces some of the same issues with race as Ferguson, Cleveland, and other cities that have experienced high-profile police shootings of African-Americans. (AP Photo/LM Otero) (The Associated Press)

State Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas speaks at a news conference at the Supreme Court Building in Austin, Texas, on Thursday, May 4, 2017, about the shooting of Jordan Edwards in Balch Springs, Texas. Listening are, left to right, state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, and state Rep. Toni Rose, D-Dallas. ( Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP) (The Associated Press)

Records show that a white Texas police officer who was fired for fatally shooting a black teenager was briefly suspended in 2013 following a complaint about his conduct while serving as a witness in a drunk-driving case.

Personnel records from the Balch Springs, Texas, Police Department obtained by The Associated Press show former officer Roy Oliver was suspended for 16 hours in December 2013 after the Dallas County District Attorney's Office filed the complaint. Oliver also was ordered to take training courses in anger management and courtroom demeanor and testimony.

The Dallas County attorney's office now is investigating the shooting Saturday night in which Oliver fired a rifle at a car of teenagers leaving a party, striking and killing 15-year-old Jordan Edwards.