It’s a travesty that Black Lives Matter is such a booming movement because that means African-Americans are still losing their lives when the situation didn’t call for it.
Nineteen-year-old Angelo State University football player Christian Taylor was recently killed by officers responding to burglary alarm at a Arlington, TX dealership late last night, August 6.
He was unarmed at the time of his death.
Reports Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
Officers were dispatched to a burglary in progress about 1 a.m. at the Classic Buick GMC dealership on the Interstate 20 service road, east of Collins Street, said Sgt. Paul Rodriguez, a police spokesman.
Officer Brad Miller Christian Taylor was a defensive back at Angelo State University. Officer Brad Miller Christian Taylor was a defensive back at Angelo State University.
A security company had called 911 after observing the suspect on camera outside the business.
Rodriguez said police arrived to find that the suspect had used a vehicle to crash into the showroom through the dealership’s front glass.
The officers went and confronted him. There was an altercation. An officer discharged his weapon and struck the suspect,” Rodriguez said.
The suspect, who was pronounced dead at the scene, was not armed with a weapon, Rodriguez said.
The officer, identified by the department as 49-year-old Brad Miller, had just graduated from the police academy in March. He has been in field training and working under the supervision of a police training officer, the department said.
Clyde Fuller, Taylor’s great uncle, described his great nephew as a good man and talented football player who was about to return to college. He said he has many unanswered questions and doesn’t believe Taylor was burglarizing the dealership as police suspected.
“He was a good kid. I don’t see him stealing no car or nothing like that,” Fuller said.
“I think something is going on that somebody is lying about,” Fuller said. “…They say he’s burglarizing the place by running up in there? Nuh-uh. Something doesn’t sound right.”
Rodriguez said the department is in the process of implementing a pilot program for use of body cameras by officers but that no such cameras are currently in use.
So many questions naturally remain. If Taylor was unarmed, where did the guns come into play for the responding officers to use? Additionally, what is the success rate for getting away with robbery when you crash your vehicle into the building? Was he supposed to drive both cars by himself or was their an accomplice on standby?
Also…
Hop over to the next page to see a photo of Miller.
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Photo: Angelo State University Athletics
