Christian Taylor: Arlington Police Ask FBI's Assistance in Probing Killing of Unarmed Teen
ByThe Arlington Police Department (APD) formally asked the FBI for help in their investigation of the shooting and killing of Christian Taylor, The New York Times reported.
Officer Brad Miller, a 49-year-old trainee, shot and killed Taylor, a 19-year-old football player at Angelo State University (ASU), early Friday morning at the Classic Buick GMC dealership in Arlington. Police arrived at the scene when a security company observed Taylor via surveillance cameras as he was trespassing and driving his car through the large glass windows into the showroom.
APD Chief Will Johnson promised a "transparent, thorough and fair investigation" into the shooting, The Times noted. Miller is now on administrative leave during the investigation and has yet to be interviewed, as is "standard practice."
The incident has already gained national attention, as Taylor was an unarmed black teenager and his death came just days ahead of the first anniversary of the Michael Brown killing.
Authorities also released the surveillance footage, which clearly shows Taylor trespassing by wandering around the cars in the lot. However, it is not explicitly clear whether or not he was trying to steal one. At one point, he stood on a car's hood and kicked at the windshield before returning to his car.
He then drove through the metal gate and into the showroom, where there was no surveillance footage available. The responding officers were also not wearing body cameras, so the actual shooting was not recording, though it is not clear whether or not the dealership had a working camera surveying the showroom.
According to The Times, Johnson gave additional details to the police officers' version of events on Saturday. He said Taylor was apparently driving around the showroom and fled when officers told him to lie on the ground. Miller fired four shots, hitting Taylor more than once after what he called "a scuffle."
"Our pledge is to provide answers in the most thorough and expeditious manner possible," Johnson said a news conference. "This instance has not occurred in isolation, but rather has occurred as our nation is grappling with the problems of social injustice, inequities, racism and police misconduct."