Another unarmed black man has been shot by police. This situation is a bit messier, given the circumstances, but it still appears to be the result of an itchy trigger finger.
A 49-year-old police trainee killed an unarmed teen burglary suspect who drove an SUV into the showroom of an Arlington car dealership early Friday.
Officer Brad Miller shot 19-year-old Christian Taylor about 1 a.m. after officers responded to a burglar alarm at Classic Buick GMC near Interstate 20 and Collins Street, police said.
Taylor, a football star and 2014 graduate of Mansfield Summit, was unarmed, police said.
The dealership’s security company reported the break-in after its cameras recorded a man there after hours, police said. Sgt. Paul Rodriguez said a burglar drove a sport utility vehicle through the dealership showroom’s glass doors.
A little more than a week before his death, Taylor tweeted “I don’t wanna die too younggggg.”When police arrived they found Taylor in the showroom and approached him. Police said Miller shot Taylor after an “altercation.” Taylor died at the scene, according to the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office.
It took almost no time at all for police to leak details of a prior arrest which was supposed to have been expunged from his record.
In December, Taylor was sentenced to six months deferred adjudication for possession of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor, according to court records. The charge was dismissed when he completed probation, according to the records.
As usual, sliming the victim is always the first line of defense in these cases. Stay tuned for further details.
