Family of man killed by Arlington officer thankful for ‘incredibly rare’ indictment
An Arlington police officer who shot and killed a man who tried to drive away from a traffic stop in September has been indicted on a charge of criminally negligent homicide.
A Tarrant County Grand Jury heard testimony in the case against Officer Bau Tran on Thursday and Friday. The indictment was handed up Wednesday afternoon. Tran has been released on a $10,000 bond.
Tran, 36, shot and killed O’Shae Terry, 24, after another officer stopped Terry on Sept. 1..
Attorney Lee Merritt, who represents Terry’s family, said it has been a “long eight months” but that he is grateful for the indictment.
“We understand how incredibly rare it is to get officer indictments anywhere in the country, but particularly in Tarrant County,” Merritt said on Wednesday. “The grand jury had an awesome responsibility. We understand officers put their lives on the line and they work difficult jobs and it’s difficult to find them guilty of wrongdoing. We believe this is a start down the road for justice.”
About 10 minutes into the traffic stop, Terry started to roll up his windows. Tran grabbed the top of the passenger side window with his left hand, ordered Terry to stop, stepped onto the foot rail, put his right arm inside the vehicle and then brought it back out to reach for his gun, the video released by police shows.
Tran shot into the vehicle at least four times.
Dashcam footage from the shooting shows the car’s back lights lit up at 13:55:27. At 13:55:44, the car moved forward and about a second later, the first of at least four shots are fired.
Merritt has previously said that Terry “did some things wrong that day” but none of those things should have ended in a death sentence.
“He said he had marijuana in the car, marijuana was later found in the car,” Merritt said in October. “He had an expired tag. He pulled off from a stop that he shouldn’t have pulled off from. We expect law enforcement officers to come into contact with people who are breaking the law, and this was a situation where O’Shae made several mistakes. None of those mistakes should have been fatal.”
Attorney Daryl Washington commended the grand jury on Wednesday for looking at the facts of what happened that day and not focusing on whether or not Terry was in the wrong for trying to leave.
He and Merritt said they believe there are three reasons an indictment was returned, despite it being difficult to indict officers. There was body camera footage of the entire incident, Terry’s passenger survived and testified to the grand jury about what happened, and the officer is a person of color.
“It’s easier to indict an Asian officer than a white officer,” Merritt said, acknowledging that his opinion will likely be seen as controversial.
“Officers of color are not afforded the same automatic protection as white officers. But (Tran) being an officer of color doesn’t change the facts of the case,” he said.
Since the shooting, Tran has been on restricted duties with his badge and gun removed. He didn’t have direct contact with the community in this role, Arlington Lt. Christopher Cook has said. Now, Tran is on leave pending the conclusion of the department’s administrative investigation.
Merritt and Washington said the leave is paid and likened it to a vacation.
Arlington police released a statement on Wednesday that said their administrative investigation into the shooting should be concluded within the next few weeks.
“The Grand Jury’s decision, irrespective of the outcome, is viewed as an additional factual piece of information to consider by those responsible for the administrative investigation of this incident,” the release said.
Merritt said he hopes that Arlington police will now take the appropriate steps to begin healing the community.
Terry’s mother, Sherley Woods, thanked God that her son will have a day in court.
“No family, no mother or father should have to go through this,” she said.
Terry’s passenger at the time of the shooting, Terrence Harmon, 24, has said he experiences symptoms of PTSD and has nightmares of the incident. On Wednesday, he wore a pin with Terry’s picture on it that said “Justice for O’Shae Terry.”
“I think about him every day,” Harmon said. “I’m going to have to live with it.”
Friday would have been Terry’s birthday, he said.
Those who testified during the hearing include Tran, Harmon, Woods, the officer who stopped Terry, and two other people, according to court documents.
While thankful for the indictment, everyone involved said they wish the punishment was higher. Tran faces two to 10 years in prison if convicted.
Randy Moore, Tran’s attorney, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in October that he believed the officer was acting within the law.
Asked why the officer didn’t let the car drive off since they had Terry’s name, Moore said, “There’s an inherent flaw in that opinion” and said that if Tran allowed Terry to leave the scene, a pursuit could have started or a crash may have happened.
“He was shot because the officer felt his life was in danger during the commission of the felony,” Moore said.
Terry was stopped by Officer Julie Herlihy because the temporary tag on the SUV he was driving showed it to be expired.
Tran responded to the traffic stop after Herlihy said she smelled marijuana, and told Terry she was going to search the vehicle, according to video footage released by the department. Once Tran arrived to the stop, he waited on the passenger side of the car while Herlihy went back to her cruiser.
That’s when Terry tried to leave the stop.
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Terry’s death a homicide from multiple gunshot wounds.
This story was originally published May 1, 2019 at 5:42 PM.
