Arlington PD profiled in new film highlighting community policing

The Arlington Police Department's response to a deadly officer-involved shooting has earned the department national attention.

A short film documents the department's community policing efforts.

The primary subject of the film is the 2015 death of Christian Taylor, a 19-year-old who was shot after a confrontation with police at a car dealership.

The whole purpose of the film is to provide a platform for dialogue showing communities all across the country how they can build and strengthen ties between law enforcement and communities of color.

The 28-minute film titled “Arlington Texas, A Community Policing Story” focuses on the challenges of 21st-century policing. A portion of the documentary follows the Arlington Police Department as it addresses a fatal officer involved shooting of an unarmed teenager in August 2015.

Christian was killed by a rookie Arlington officer inside a car dealership where Taylor was vandalizing vehicles after taking a synthetic drug that causes hallucinations.

Adrian Taylor says there was noticeable community healing after his son, Christian’s death.

“It’s definitely changed us,” Adrian said. “And we're definitely giving our all to the community. His legacy will and is going to go on."

But Adrian and his wife, Tina, believe Arlington police still have more to do.

“Right now, there have been some changes, but it's not enough,” she said. “I don't feel like they've reached out to the communities that are in need the most."

Adrian Taylor says with the $850,000 settlement they received from the city, they are planning to build a community center. He knows police are trying to create bonds in the community and wants to help.

"I'm not pointing a finger either way because it's not going to bring my son back or do anything or change anything right now,” Adrian said. “But some changes do need to happen, and it needs to happen on both ends."

Pastor Dwight McKissic, who’s in the film, says those were tense times for the entire city over several days.

“There was a small crowd ready to throw rocks and ready to cause confusion and havoc,” the pastor said.

The initial 911 call was that Christian was acting erratic. Surveillance video shows him jumping up and down on a car and eventually ramming his SUV through a gate and into the dealership.

Police say Christian ignored police commands and charged at Officer Brad Miller, who shot and killed him as a senior officer attempted to use a taser.

Arlington Police Chief Will Johnson said he found officer Brad Miller’s actions troubling and fired him days later for exercising poor judgment.

A Tarrant County Grand Jury declined to indict the fired officer.

“When justice rolled down, we were very pleased that this wasn’t swept under the rug,” McKissic said. “This was not treated as if a serious matter had not taken place. And when it was all said and done, our trust was well founded in our chief of police.”

Arlington Police Chief Will Johnson prayed with the community and even Christian’s family.

“I can never promise you that we will not have a crisis in Arlington,” Johnson said. “But I can promise you that we will respond with compassion, that we will respond with love and we will respond with accountability.”

Chief Johnson says the film in not just about him or his department, it’s about the community of Arlington.

“It gives me a real sense of hometown pride,” he said. “But it also gives me a really compelling sense of urgency that we have much more to do.”

The film was produced by a national activist group called ‘Not in Our Town,’ which examines ways to improve police and community relations.

There’s also a guidebook on Arlington’s community policing that was released on Tuesday. That document was commissioned by the Justice Department.