Former Balch Springs Police Officer Roy Oliver was convicted of murder after firing into a car full of teenagers and killing 15-year-old Jordan Edwards as the vehicle drove away from police.
The shooting happened on April 29, 2017, in Balch Springs, Texas, after officers responded to a house party. Jordan was at the party with his brothers and friends. When gunfire was heard outside, teenagers began trying to leave the area.
According to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Jordan was riding in the car with his brothers Vidal Allen and Kevon Edwards, and friends Maxwell Everette and Maximus Everette. Vidal was driving.
The Fifth Circuit described the car as moving forward on Shepherd Lane when Oliver arrived at the intersection. Oliver fired five shots at the passenger side of the car as it headed southbound away from the officers. One bullet struck Jordan in the head, killing him.
Police initially said the vehicle had been backing toward officers “in an aggressive manner.” That account quickly fell apart. NPR, citing Associated Press reporting, reported that police later admitted body-camera video showed the vehicle moving forward as officers approached.
Oliver claimed he believed the car was going to hit his partner, Officer Tyler Gross. But Gross testified that he did not believe his life was in danger. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that police body camera footage showed the car moving away from Gross.
Oliver was fired by the Balch Springs Police Department three days after the shooting. He was arrested and charged with murder shortly afterward.
On August 28, 2018, a Dallas County jury found Oliver guilty of murder. Jurors acquitted him of two aggravated assault charges connected to the other occupants of the car.
The next day, the jury sentenced Oliver to 15 years in prison and imposed a $10,000 fine. Prosecutors had asked for at least 60 years. Jordan’s family said the sentence was too short, but also described the conviction as a starting point for accountability.
The case was widely viewed as rare because on-duty police officers are almost never convicted of murder for fatal shootings. NPR reported that District Attorney Faith Johnson described the conviction as historic.
Oliver appealed. In 2020, the Texas Court of Appeals affirmed his murder conviction and sentence. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals later agreed to review the case but, in June 2022, dismissed the petition as improvidently granted, leaving the conviction in place.
According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Oliver remained serving his 15-year sentence after the appeal was denied and became eligible for parole in 2026.
The civil case continued after the criminal conviction. In April 2023, FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth reported that a federal jury awarded Jordan Edwards’s family $21.6 million in damages against Oliver, including $10.6 million in compensatory damages and $11 million in punitive damages.
The Fifth Circuit also rejected Oliver’s attempt to avoid trial through qualified immunity in the civil case. The court noted that a reasonable jury could conclude the car full of teenagers presented no immediate threat to officer safety when Oliver used deadly force.
Jordan Edwards was a 15-year-old high school freshman leaving a party with his brothers and friends. Roy Oliver fired into the car as it drove away, killed him, and became one of the rare police officers convicted of murder for an on-duty killing.
