He spotted Taylor and followed him, commanding Taylor to the ground. According to Chief Johnson, Miller is no longer employed with the department. Following the incident, Miller was immediately placed on administrative leave. None have been filed at this time.
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But as it is now, many commenters on Facebook are accusing the chief of throwing Miller under the bus, saying that Taylor deserved to be shot and killed because he was caught on camera committing a crime.
“We again ask that citizens obey the commands of police officers in order to prevent these tragedies from occurring in the future”, the association said.
“I’m not a man of revenge, and the results can’t bring my son back”, Adrian Taylor said. A short time later he drove his own SUV through the dealership’s glass windows to enter the showroom. Taylor was found wandering inside the building. Instead, he began “actively advancing toward officer Miller”, Johnson said.
Miller and his supervising officer, Cpl. Dale Wiggins, shot Taylor with a Taser.
When Mr Taylor continued to approach, Officer Miller fired his gun three more times, he added. Miller reportedly fired four shots amid some chatter that the pair scuffled inside the showroom.
That decision put the other officers at risk, Johnson said, and Wiggins had to rush to rejoin Miller. Miller told investigators he feared for his life prior to opening fire. When officers arrived, Taylor was inside. “Decisions were made that have a catastrophic outcome”.
Staff writers Tristan Hallman and Naomi Martin contributed to this post.
Miller and five other officers went early Friday morning to the auto dealership in the 1400 block of the East Interstate 20.
Christian Taylor was shot by an officer trainee during a burglary call at Classic Buick GMC near Interstate 20 and Collins Street.
Miller was still a probationary officer in field training, so he can not appeal the decision, Police Chief Will Johnson said at Tuesday’s press conference. It was in this context that he invited the outside scrutiny of the FBI.
The FBI declined the invitation and said in a statement that it has “full confidence in the ability” of the Arlington Police Department and prosecutors to investigate Taylor’s death.
Newly released surveillance video shows Christian Taylor, an Angelo State University student-athlete, entering a dealership lot and jumping on the hood of a auto.
“Although the investigation is not over, my hope is that the information shared today can assist in the healing process”, the police chief said, according to the Associated Press. Miller’s field training officer will not face department discipline, the chief said. Police have previously said that he had never fired his weapon in the line of duty before.
That young man was Christian Taylor, a football player at Angelo State University in West Texas.
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He died of gunshots in his neck, chest and abdomen, according to the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office. Police spokesman Tiara Richard said Miller had retained an attorney but did not know who.
