Texas police chief says car was driving away from cop who fatally shot teen passenger
By Nomaan Merchant, Associated Press
A suburban Dallas police chief acknowledged Monday that an officer who fatally shot a black 15-year-old in a moving vehicle fired as the car was driving away — not as it reversed toward officers, as the department had previously asserted.
Balch Springs Police Chief Jonathan Haber told reporters that police video contradicted his department’s original statement about the Saturday night shooting of Jordan Edwards. Edwards, a high school freshman, had gotten into a vehicle with four other teenagers to leave a house party as police were arriving to investigate an underage drinking complaint, according to his family’s attorney, Lee Merritt.
Police first said the vehicle backed up toward police at the scene “in an aggressive manner.” But Haber said Monday that police video shows the vehicle was instead “moving forward as the officers approached.”
Before Haber’s update, Merritt and the teen’s family held their own news conference, during which Merritt accused police of “offering facts that they believe paint a picture that would justify the unjustifiable.” He later told The Associated Press that Jordan’s shooting brings to mind the high-profile deaths of other black people after police encounters that have sparked outrage and protest in recent years, but that this case stood out for its “sheer recklessness.”
“This has happened far too often,” Merritt said. “We are tired of making the same rhetorical demands, of having the same hashtags.”
Indeed, thousands of Facebook and Twitter users have posted about the case in recent days with the hashtag “#jordanedwards,” some comparing his death to other police shootings of young black men, such as 12-year-old Tamir Rice in Cleveland who was fatally shot in November 2014 as he held a pellet gun.
Merritt said Edwards’ family wants to see the officer fired and criminally charged. The police chief called for time to let authorities complete their investigations. Haber wouldn’t identify the officer and didn’t release his race, but said he had been “removed from all duties” and placed on leave.
Haber also wouldn’t release the police video or describe it in detail other than to acknowledge he erred in describing the encounter, but said he was troubled by what he saw.
“I do have questions in relation to my observation on the video, and what is consistent with the policies and core values of the Balch Springs Police Department,” Haber said.
Balch Springs’ official use-of-force policy encourages officers facing an oncoming vehicle to “attempt to move out of its path, if possible, instead of discharging a firearm at it or any of its occupants.” The policy was posted online by ‘Point of Impact,’ a series on police shootings reported by freelance journalist Eva Ruth Moravec. It echoes advice given by the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
Haber did not return phone and email messages Monday seeking clarification about whether he believed the officer violated the policy on Saturday night. The Dallas County district attorney’s and sheriff’s offices are investigating the shooting. A spokeswoman for the sheriff said its probe was in the “preliminary stages.”
The original police statement about the shooting said officers responded to a report of “several underage kids drunk walking around.” It doesn’t specify whether the passengers of the vehicle in which Jordan was riding were among them.
Merritt said there was no alcohol found in the car and no evidence that the passengers had been drinking.
The Fairway to Success Program honors top performing students with banquet on May 1
DALLAS – Deloitte LLP, The Northern Texas PGA (NTPGA) and United Way have announced the recipients of the 2017 Deloitte/NTPGA Fairway to Success Scholarships. Six students will be awarded and join the 38 previous recipients. They are: Maritza Aguilar, Craig Jackson, Keja Johnson, Adriana Lopez, Tahania Sierra and Stephanie Vargas. Each student will receive a $20,000 scholarship towards his or her continuing education. The recipients were honored at a breakfast on May 1 at Lakewood Country Club.
Established in 2007, the Fairway to Success Program annually awards scholarships to students based on academic performance, extracurricular activities, community involvement and financial need. Fairway to Success is helping to impact and change the lives of young people in our community. The program is conducted at three Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD) high schools – W.W. Samuell, Thomas Jefferson and Lincoln high schools – and includes exposing students to golf and the life lessons of discipline, honor and integrity that are central to the game. These schools were originally selected by DISD for their level of need, lack of outside resources and by virtue of concurrent participation in the Destination: Graduation program offered through United Way of Metropolitan Dallas. During 2016-2017, the five-week after school golf program, conducted in the fall and spring, boasted high participation with 137 DISD high school students learning the basics of golf from PGA golf professionals. By completing the program, students earned the right to participate in a field trip to a local golf course, and graduating seniors who qualified by participating in the program had the opportunity to apply for a college scholarship.
Since its inception, the program has awarded $880,000 to 44 DISD students through the individual contributions of Deloitte partners and professionals in North Texas who have raised more than $1.7 million to date to an educational endowment.
For many of the students we work with through the Fairway to Success program, golf serves as a means to introduce and help instill some valuable life lessons,” said Jason Downing, North Texas managing partner and Central region market leader, Deloitte LLP. “By learning the basics of the game from NTPGA professionals and being paired with a Deloitte mentor, these talented young people are receiving guidance and learning new skills that we hope will last for a lifetime.”
Fairway to Success also includes a mentorship program designed to support scholarship recipients throughout their college careers. Recipients interact with Deloitte mentors who share their insights gained from working in a professional services environment. Deloitte mentors also help students explore potential career opportunities in the business and STEM-focused fields of study. Finally, the NTPGA employs two Fairway to Success recipients as interns each summer. It also furthers the intern’s golf education and exposure that began on their high school campuses through Fairway to Success.
“As the program has developed, they have been adding components. One of the main components is the mentor program. The kids will be assigned a mentor who will guide them, not just getting into college, but all the way through. So, we have added a layer of support that the kids did not have beforehand. It’s memorable, it’s positive, it’s supportive, and without these mentors in the kids’ lives some of them may not of been successful,” said Coach Matthew Summers, teacher and golf coach at Thomas Jefferson High School.
More information about the 2017 scholarship recipients is listed below:
Maritza Aguilar – W.W. Samuell High School
With a 3.8 GPA, Maritza is ranked seventh in her graduating class of 339 students. She is a part of W.W. Samuell’s Early College Program, through which she has already earned 62 college credit hours and will graduate in June with her associate’s degree from Eastfield College. Last summer, she worked at the Dallas World Aquarium as an ambassador and plans to do so again in summer 2017. Maritza is the secretary of student council at W.W. Samuell and a four-year member of the Book Club. Education is very important to her, and for that reason, she aspires to become a history teacher and return to Dallas ISD to give back to her community. In the future, she says she wants her children to know it is a goal to go to college, not just an option. Maritza will attend the University of North Texas in the fall.
Craig Jackson – Lincoln High School
College was never an option for Craig Jackson growing up, but his goal was to break the chain in order to be a positive role model for his younger siblings. Ranked seventh in his graduating class, Craig is always working towards his future goals. He participated in the Ernest & Young college prep program and has accrued over 80 hours of community service in high school through the Turner 12, a college prep and community service group that he has participated in since sixth grade. Coach Carter, the executive director of the Turner 12, has been a true mentor and inspiration to Craig throughout many of life’s struggles he experienced growing up. Despite these obstacles, Craig will attend the University of North Texas this fall where he will be enrolled in a five-year accounting program working towards both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting. His dream job is to one day work for Deloitte.
Keja Johnson – Lincoln High School
Keja is the salutatorian of her graduating class at Lincoln High School. She has also been involved with the Girl Scouts organization since she was just a cadet at nine years old. She now serves as a Girl Scouts ambassador, doing various service projects for the organization. Keja is very goal-oriented and truly believes that failure is not an option. Because of this forward-thinking mindset, she held two internship positions during her time in high school: one with VNA Meals on Wheels and another at KERA-TV / KXT 91.7. It is Keja’s ultimate goal to have her own talk show, focusing on empowering women, as she aspires to be just like Oprah Winfrey. In the fall, she will attend Texas Christian University where she plans to major in mass communications with a double minor in Spanish and deaf habilitation.
Adriana Lopez – Thomas Jefferson High School
Adriana Lopez understands that hard work gets you where you want to go. This young woman maintained a 3.8 GPA while also balancing the responsibilities of being the drum major in her high school band, the senior captain for the girls golf team, a load of AP classes and working a 25 hour-per-week job at Chick-fil-a. She is also involved with her high school theatre and is an active member of the Patriot Ambassadors, a leadership organization that mentors incoming freshmen at Thomas Jefferson. This first generation college student applied, and was accepted to, 12 different universities. She ultimately decided to enroll at the University of Texas at Dallas this fall, where she will study speech pathology with the ultimate goal of helping people with special needs.
Tahania Sierra – Thomas Jefferson High School
Not many little girls grow up dreaming to be an app developer or computer analyst, but Tahania Sierra wants to show her younger sister that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. Tahania discovered her passion for mathematics and computers at a young age, more interested in finding out how computer games worked than actually playing the games themselves. After watching countless tutorial videos and doing lots of research, she eventually taught herself how to code. Tahania forwards her enthusiasm for math to others by tutoring middle school students in the subject in her spare time. During high school, she also participated in National Honor Society as the group’s secretary and was an active member of the Art Club, all while balancing AP courses and dual-credit classes through Brookhaven Community College. Tahania will be studying computer science at University Texas at Dallas starting this fall and looks forward utilizing to the relationship UTD has with Texas Instruments.
Stephanie Vargas – Thomas Jefferson High School
As a first generation high school graduate, Stephanie had to forge her own unique path to success. Growing up she was expected to help out around the house more than most kids her age, taking care of her younger brother Bryan, who has down syndrome, while her parents were at work. Throughout high school, Stephanie committed herself to becoming a positive role model for her younger brother, niece and nephew. In May, she will graduate in the top ten percent of her class from Thomas Jefferson. While in high school, she was the captain of the dance drill team and member of the varsity dance ensemble, while also remaining very involved as a Patriot ambassador. This fall, Stephanie will enroll at Texas A&M University and plans to study wildlife and fisheries management with the goal of opening her own animal rescue ranch.
About the Northern Texas PGA Junior Golf Foundation
The Northern Texas PGA Junior Golf Foundation is committed to introducing, promoting and growing the game of golf to a diverse group of kids in North Texas and instilling in them the positive, character developing traits for which the game is so well known. Each year close to 10,000 children and their families are impacted by the game that lasts a lifetime through a full circle of programs and services including:
· Introduction – Golf in Schools, Fairway to Success After School Program, Drive, Chip and Putt and Summer Golf Camps
· Playing – Team and PGA Junior League Golf, Prep and Medalist Levels and All American Tour – 400+ tournaments per year
· Education – College Scholarships – $2.06M distributed including $265,000 awarded in 2017
· Employment – Internship Program, Fairway to Success After School Program and Summer Golf Camps
· Philanthropy – Kids Play FORE Kids, Ewing Charity Classic, Birdies for Kids, the Jerry J. Ransom Pro-Junior-Am and the Royal Oaks’ Great 108
The Northern Texas PGA Junior Golf Foundation is governed by the Northern Texas PGA Board of Directors.
About Deloitte
Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to many of the world’s most admired brands, including 80 percent of the Fortune 500 and more than 6,000 private and middle market companies. Our people work across more than 20 industry sectors to deliver measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in our capital markets, inspire clients to make their most challenging business decisions with confidence, and help lead the way toward a stronger economy and a healthy society.
