DALLAS (AP) – The U.S. Justice Department has launched an investigation into the fatal shooting of a black 15-year-old by a white police officer, a spokeswoman for the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office confirmed Thursday.
The investigation prompted by the April 29 fatal shooting of Jordan Edwards by Balch Springs police Officer Roy Oliver is separate from the district attorney’s prosecution of Oliver on a murder charge, said Brittany Dunn, a spokeswoman for District Attorney Faith Johnson. She said she did not know the scope and focus of the investigation of the Balch Spring Police Department, and a message left for a Justice Department spokesman was not returned.
Oliver was fired and charged with murder in the April 29 shooting and is free on bond.
Edwards’ family and its attorney said Johnson advised them of the federal investigation during a meeting Thursday.
A Justice Department investigation could end in a wide variety of outcomes – some civil, some criminal.