A white policeman who shot dead a black teenager in Texas last week has been dismissed. Officer Brad Miller killed Christian Taylor after reports
ADVERTISEMENTA white policeman who shot dead a black teenager in Texas last week has
been dismissed.
Officer Brad Miller killed Christian Taylor after reports that the 19-year old had been seen on security camera footage vandalising vehicles at an car dealership.
The policeman could now face criminal charges.
“I have serious concerns as to the rationale articulated for the use of deadly force in this incident. These concerns, however, are best addressed through the criminal investigation process,“Arlington Police Chief Will Johnson told reporters.
“The grand jury will decide if the use of force in this incident rises to the level of criminal prosecution.”
In Ferguson, Missouri, meanwhile, police have released a video they say shows black teenager Tyrone Harris, shot by officers on Sunday, brandishing a gun himself.
The 18-year-old, who is critically wounded, is accused of firing on police.
For demonstrators it is not that clear-cut.
“He was running with the rest of us. And it was after the shots were fired that he pulled out his gun,” said protester Dominique Morgan from St. Louis.
“So one side can say he pulled out his gun, he was shooting at the police. Also the other side could say that he pulled out his gun to protect himself from the shots that were now everywhere.”
Harris’s father said his son did not have a gun.
The incident took place amid ongoing racial tensions as protesters marked the first anniversary of the fatal shooting in Ferguson of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by a white police officer.