DOJ to Investigate Fatal Police Shooting of Jordan Edwards

By Kenrya Rankin May 12, 2017

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has reportedly launched an investigation into the police shooting death of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards.

The Dallas County District Attorney’s Office charged Balch Springs Police Department ex-officer Roy Oliver with murder last week. Now local station CBS DFW reports that the DOJ is investigating the April 29 shooting of the unarmed Black teen.

The news comes on the heels of Attorney General Jeff Sessions saying that his agency will “pull back on” suing police departments that violate the civil rights of residents and arguing that the suits represent “harmful federal intrusion in the daily work of local police.”

Meanwhile, The Dallas Morning News reports that the Edwards family has filed a civil suit against the police department with the goal of rooting out dangerous cops. “We want to see a genuine effort, with all resources available, to prosecute not only the officer that has been named, Roy Oliver, but every officer involved in wrongdoing, in the cover up, and the harassment of Jordan Edwards’ brothers—and the injustice on that evening,” family attorney Lee Merritt told CBS.

The DOJ has not posted a statement about the investigation.