Texas cop fired after fatal shooting of college football player
ARLINGTON, Tex. --The police chief in the Dallas suburb of Arlington says an officer who's been fired over the fatal shooting of an unarmed Texas college football player should not have approached the 19-year-old burglary suspect alone.
Arlington Police Chief Will Johnson on Tuesday said he had fired officer Brad Miller over the shooting of Christian Taylor. Johnson says he's troubled by some of the actions Miller took while responding to a reported burglary at a car dealership early Friday morning.
"I have serious concerns as to the rational articulated for the use of deadly force in this incident. These concerns however are best addressed through the criminal investigation process," said Johnson. "However, based on a preponderance of evidence available to me and the facts revealed by the investigative team, I have decided to terminate Officer Miller's employment with the Arlington Police Department for exercising poor judgement."
Johnson said Miller shot Taylor when Taylor began to advance toward the officer. But he said there was no physical contact between the officer and Taylor before Taylor was shot.
The Arlington Police Department had earlier released surveillance video of Taylor kicking in a car windshield and then driving his SUV through the glass wall of the Arlington dealership, according to CBS Dallas.
Johnson said it will be up to a grand jury to decide whether Miller should be charged criminally.
After announcing the firing of Brad Miller, Chief Johnson went on to say that the department will continue to review the actions and the tactics for all personnel.
Taylor played football at Angelo State University in San Angelo. Security footage from the dealership lot shows Taylor breaking the windshield of a car on the lot before driving his own vehicle into a glass showroom.