ARLINGTON, Texas — A police officer who fatally shot an unarmed college football player during a suspected burglary at a Texas car dealership was fired Tuesday for making mistakes that the city’s police chief said caused a deadly confrontation that put him and other officers in danger.
Arlington officer Brad Miller, 49, could also face criminal charges once police complete their investigation, Police Chief Will Johnson said.
Called to the scene of a suspected burglary early Friday morning, Miller pursued 19-year-old Christian Taylor through the broken glass doors of a car dealership showroom without telling his supervising officer, Johnson said.
Instead of helping to set up a perimeter around the showroom, Miller confronted Taylor and ordered him to get down on the ground, Johnson said. Taylor did not comply. Instead, he began “actively advancing toward Officer Miller,” Johnson said.
Miller’s field training officer, who had followed Miller into the showroom, drew his own Taser. The training officer heard a single pop of what he thought was Miller’s Taser, but Miller actually had drawn his service weapon and fired it at Taylor, who is believed to have been 7 to 10 feet away from the officer, Johnson said. After Taylor continued to approach, Miller fired his gun three more times.
“This is an extraordinarily difficult case,” Johnson said. “Decisions were made that created an environment of cascading consequences and an unrecoverable outcome.”
The Arlington Municipal Patrolman’s Association issued a statement Tuesday night decrying Johnson’s decision. The group said it supports “Miller’s right to be judged fairly and completely on facts instead of a snapshot developed in only days,” and also expressed sympathy for Taylor’s family.
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