FBI asked to investigate fatal police shooting of unarmed, black college football player
'If the shooting was not justified there will be consequences'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A Texas police chief has invited the Federal Bureau of Investigations to probe the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teen at the hands of a white, rookie police officer.
Christian Taylor, an unarmed, black 19-year-old was fatally shot by Brad Miller, a 49-year-old cop who was still completing his 16-week field training.
Promising a transparent investigation, Arlington Police Chief Will Johnson reached out to FBI Dallas amid outcry after the shooting, which took place inside the Classic Buick GMC after 1am on Friday.
Officer Miller and his supervising officer arrived to the dealership after reports of a possible burglary. After confronting the teen and ordering him to surrender, an alleged confrontation broke out. Miller then fired his weapon four times, hitting the teen twice. Miller’s supervisor said he’d used his taser.
Chief Johnson repeatedly refused to describe the confrontation.
Officer Miller joined the Arlington police department last year and was placed on paid administrative leave.
Stealth Monitoring, a security company for the dealership, released video before the incident. The teen is shown jumping on cars, breaking a windshield and driving his jeep into the dealership's showroom.
The company has said that there are no surveillance cameras stationed inside the building, where the fatal shooting took place.
“We are looking at all available video from outside and inside the location to obtain as much information as possible. At this time, investigators have not located any video capturing the shooting,” the department wrote in a statement.
The chief promised transparency as the shooting took place two days before the anniversary of the fatal shooting of Mike Brown, an unarmed black teen fatally shot by a white officer in Ferguson, Missouri.
“Everything about the outcome of this incident is a tragedy. Our community is hurting, a family is hurting and our department is hurting,” the chief said.
“If the [shooting] was not justified there will be consequences."
The teen was a defensive back for Angelo State University and there has been an outpouring of support by his friends and family on social media, even striking the attention of tennis superstar Serena Williams and Selma director Ava DuVernay.
Additional reporting by the Associated Press.
Serena Williams speaks out about the killing of unarmed black teenager Christian Taylor
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments