Crowd gathers to celebrate slain youth’s birthday

A crowd of more than 200 gathered Sunday for a party and picnic at Vandergriff Park in Arlington celebrating what would have been Christian Taylor’s 20th birthday.

Taylor, an Arlington resident born Oct. 13, 1995, was a sophomore football player at Angelo State University when he was shot four times by rookie officer Brad Miller, 49, on Aug. 7. Arlington Police Chief Will Johnson fired Miller on Aug. 11, saying the officer had “exercised poor judgment.”

Adrian Taylor, Christian’s father, said he was grateful to all the friends and relatives who came to the picnic.

“God is the only thing making it possible for me to smile,” he said.

Adrian Taylor said he uses negative comments regarding his son’s story as a source of strength, and knows that God is preparing him for what comes next.

“I go into my son’s room every day,” he said. “I kiss his picture. I smell his sheets. It’s like he’s still here. I feel him in my heart telling me to be strong.”

Security video from the Classic Buick GMC dealership shows Taylor jumping on and vandalizing a Ford Mustang in the parking lot. He later crashed his SUV through the glass front of the showroom. Miller confronted him inside the showroom.

An autopsy showed Taylor had the drugs “N-Bomb” and marijuana in his system when he died.

Taylor was killed just two days before the one-year anniversary of the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, who was black, by a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo. Brown's death galvanized the "Black Lives Matter" movement.

Adrian Taylor said he believes his son’s death will spark positive action.

“To be Christian means to be Christ-like,” Adrian Taylor said. “That’s what my son was trying to do and what he is always telling me to do. The right thing.”

This story was originally published October 11, 2015 at 8:05 PM with the headline "Crowd gathers to celebrate slain youth’s birthday."