RantCrush Top 5: May 2, 2017

Over the weekend, police in Dallas shot and killed a 15-year old boy who was the passenger in a car. At first, the officer who opened fire said that he shot at the car because it was reversing down a street in an “aggressive manner.” But yesterday, police chief Jonathan Haber of Balch Springs, Texas, said that video footage showed the unnamed officer firing at the car when it was driving forward. Lee Merritt, attorney for the family of the deceased Jordan Edwards, thanked the police chief for being transparent and admitting to the mistake. “There were no weapons involved; there was no aggressive behavior; these were not suspects,” Merritt said.

Let’s be clear that #JordanEdwards could’ve been an academic failure, disrespectful, with a juvenile record and still didn’t deserve this.

— Francisco-Luis White (@FranciscoLWhite) May 2, 2017

According to a statement from the police department, officers were investigating a house party when they heard gunshots and went outside. They then saw the car backing away despite commands to stop, and as the car started driving forward and still didn’t comply with officers’ verbal demands, one of them opened fire.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.