Balch Springs police shooting: Department changes story about 15-year-old's death

Jordan Edwards (Fox 4 News)

A suburban Dallas police chief said Monday that his department inaccurately described why an officer fired at a moving vehicle over the weekend, killing a 15-year-old boy.

Jordan Edwards and four other teenagers were in a vehicle leaving a party in Balch Springs Saturday night when an officer shot at them with his rifle. Police initially said the vehicle was backing up toward police at the scene "in an aggressive manner."

But Balch Springs Police Chief Jonathan Haber said Monday that video shows the vehicle not reversing, but instead "moving forward as the officers approached."

"I do have questions in relation to my observation of the video and what is consistent with the policies and core values of Balch Springs Police Department,” Haber told reporters. The chief called for the community to allow authorities to complete their investigation before jumping to conclusions.

Police say they received a 911 call around 11 p.m. reporting several underage teens acting drunk. Lawyers for the Edwards family said the teens were simply trying to get away.

"We are declaring war on bad policing. We are tired of having to make the same rhetorical demands,” said attorney Lee Merritt.

Merritt said the shooting of Edwards, who was black, brings to mind other deaths of black people in encounters with police.

Edwards' classmates at Mesquite High School described him as a straight-A freshman who was well liked by many. Grief counselors were on hand at the school on Monday.

Jeff Fleener, the school’s head football coach, told the Dallas Morning News that he was “crushed and heartbroken” when he heard about the news of the shooting.

Fleener said Edwards always stayed out of trouble, had a GPA over 3.5 and was set to begin playing defensive back this spring.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.