Dallas Police Officer in Teen Shooting Terminated

DALLAS (AP) - A suburban Dallas police department has fired the police officer who shot and killed a black 15-year-old boy who was riding in a vehicle while leaving a house party.

The Balch Springs Police Department said Tuesday that officer Roy Oliver was terminated for violating department policies during the Saturday night shooting that killed Jordan Edwards.

Police originally said the vehicle was reversing "in an aggressive manner" toward officers, but later said that video taken at the scene proved the vehicle was actually driving away.

Lee Merritt, an attorney for Edwards' family, said the officer shot him with a rifle through the front passenger side window.

Thousands of people have posted about the case online, some comparing it to other police shootings of black men.

The family of a black 15-year-old fatally shot by a police officer in suburban Dallas say they don't condone violence or threats made against the Balch Springs Police Department or other members of law enforcement, a day after the department's chief acknowledged video of the incident contradicted the department's original account.

Lee Merritt, an attorney for the family of Jordan Edwards, issued the statement Tuesday on Twitter.

Edwards' family asks for space to grieve, noting that Edwards' two brothers witnessed the shooting.

Edwards was shot and killed by an unnamed officer, while he was in the passenger seat of a car leaving a party Saturday night. Balch Springs Police Chief Jonathan Haber Monday said the car was driving away from officers, not reversing toward them as officials had originally said.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.