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Police shooting of Texas teen in moving car violated federal guidance
LBN thread: Shooting of black teen in Dallas suburb did not meet our core values, police chief says
____________________________________________________________________________
Source: The Guardian
Police shooting of Texas teen in moving car violated federal guidance
Chief says killing of Jordan Edwards also violated department’s ‘core
values’ and changes official account, saying teens were driving away
at time of shooting
Jamiles Lartey
Tuesday 2 May 2017 14.28 BST
When a Dallas-area police officer fired shots into a moving car on Saturday night, killing 15-year-old Jordan Edwards, the officer did so in direct violation of federal guidance and widespread police department best practices.
According to the officer’s police chief, he did so in violation of the department’s “core values” as well.
Jordan was just the latest victim of a practice the Department of Justice has routinely described as dangerous and unnecessary. A 2015 Guardian investigation found that about four people a month were killed in similar incidents where police fired into moving vehicles. Data from the Guardian’s Counted database, which recorded how many people were killed by US police in 2015 and 2016, suggests that that number killed by police gunfire after officers shot into vehicles remained unchanged in 2016, at 48.
Jordan was in the passenger seat of a car authorities initially said was being driven backwards in an “aggressive manner” when a Balch Springs, Texas, officer opened fire. On Monday, police chief Jonathan Haber changed the official account, citing body camera footage that showed the vehicle was driving away when the officer fired his rifle at Edwards.
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Chief says killing of Jordan Edwards also violated department’s ‘core
values’ and changes official account, saying teens were driving away
at time of shooting
Jamiles Lartey
Tuesday 2 May 2017 14.28 BST
When a Dallas-area police officer fired shots into a moving car on Saturday night, killing 15-year-old Jordan Edwards, the officer did so in direct violation of federal guidance and widespread police department best practices.
According to the officer’s police chief, he did so in violation of the department’s “core values” as well.
Jordan was just the latest victim of a practice the Department of Justice has routinely described as dangerous and unnecessary. A 2015 Guardian investigation found that about four people a month were killed in similar incidents where police fired into moving vehicles. Data from the Guardian’s Counted database, which recorded how many people were killed by US police in 2015 and 2016, suggests that that number killed by police gunfire after officers shot into vehicles remained unchanged in 2016, at 48.
Jordan was in the passenger seat of a car authorities initially said was being driven backwards in an “aggressive manner” when a Balch Springs, Texas, officer opened fire. On Monday, police chief Jonathan Haber changed the official account, citing body camera footage that showed the vehicle was driving away when the officer fired his rifle at Edwards.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/may/02/dallas-texas-police-shooting-jordan-edwards-moving-car