Lead detective in Roy Oliver case says ex-cop not ‘appropriate’ in shooting teen

Witnesses who say an ex-Balch Springs police officer was not justified in killing an unarmed 15-year-old boy last year are stacking up.

On Wednesday, the lead detective at the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office — who investigated the April 29, 2017, shooting — echoed others who have testified in the trial of Roy Oliver, 38, saying Oliver “did not act appropriately” when he fired five rounds into a car full of teenagers.

One of those rounds hit 15-year-old Jordan Edwards in the head. He was not armed and no weapons were found in the Impala he occupied.

Oliver’s defense attorney argued that Detective Juan Carranza didn’t have enough evidence to seek a murder charge against Oliver — but Carranza disagreed.

Jurors also saw pictures of the car after the shooting.

The passenger side window was shattered and a bullet hole could be seen in the windshield in front of the passenger’s seat where Edwards sat. A bloody bottle of strawberry lemonade sat near the center console. Edwards’ brother, Vidal Allen, testified last week that it was the last drink Edwards bought that night.

Detective Garrick Whaley also showed the jury diagrams he created that depicted where each of Oliver’s five bullets went.

It was the third round that investigators think hit Edwards. One round hit the back passenger door but didn’t go through.

Edwards, his brothers and a couple of friends were leaving a house party in Balch Springs at around 11 p.m. that night about the time Oliver and his partner arrived to break up the party.

As the teens were trying to leave, someone unrelated to the party-goers fired 12 shots outside a nearby nursing home.

The Impala was between the officers and the nursing home. The officers tried to stop the driver, but Oliver said he shot into the car five times because it was moving to run over his partner, Officer Tyler Gross.

However, video footage taken from the officers’ body cameras shows the car was backing away from Gross.

State prosecutors have questioned several witnesses who said Oliver was not justified in shooting into the car. Gross testified that he never felt in fear for his life.

The trial, which began last Thursday, is expected to last a week. Oliver is charged with murder and was fired by the Balch Springs Police Department soon after the shooting.

This story was originally published August 22, 2018 at 4:14 PM.