Grand Jury declines to indict Arlington officer for shooting teen at dealership
A Tarrant County grand jury declined to indict a former Arlington police officer accused of shooting and killing a 19-year-old at a car dealership in 2015.
Former Arlington Officer Brad Miller, 49, was accused of following Christian Taylor, 19, into the dealership where he shot the Angelo State football player four times as the teen rushed toward him.
Before the confrontation, video from the Arlington dealership showed Taylor acting erratically, jumping on cars and later busting through the gate into the parking lot. An autopsy showed Taylor had drugs in his system at the time of the shooting.
Miller was fired by Arlington Police Chief Will Johnson days after the shooting.
The attorney for Taylor's family said they were disappointed in the decision by the grand jury.
"[Miller] struck out on his own, went inside, confronted Christian. And by this time his training officer came inside and assessed the situation used his Tazer and in the meantime Miller was using his 9 millimeter Glock to shoot him four times," said attorney Mike Heiskell. "We certainly believe it's reckless, it's negligent and unjustified."
Heiskell asked for Taylor's friends and supporters to not react violently to the grand jury decision and said there are civil legal options the family is considering.
"Their job is to serve and protect," said Heiskell. "And he didn't protect Christian Taylor."
FOX 4 also received a statement from Miller's attorney, John Snider, which thanked the grand jury for considering all the facts in the case.
"Too often, police officers' decisions are judged without proper consideration of the tense and dangerous situations they face," Snider said. "Brad Miller, like many other police officers, was forced to make a split-second decision to protect his life and the lives of his fellow officers."
In the days that followed, Miller was fired after the Arlington Police Chief Will Johnson accused him of violating department policy. He claimed Miller should have never gone into the building without letting his Corporal know and should have never gone in after the report of the suspicious bulge in Taylor's pocket. The chief said he had serious concerns about the rationale behind Miller using deadly force.
The Texas Municipal Police Association, which Miller was a part of, blasted Arlington police for their handling of the case. It called Miller's firing by the APD chief "short-sighted and ill-considered."
"Arlington Police Chief Will Johnson and several others owe Brad and his family a very public apology," said TMPA Executive Director Kevin Lawrence.
The Arlington Police Department declined to comment on the Grand Jury's decision.