Attorneys push back on former Balch Springs officer's claims

Attorneys Daryl K Washington and Jasmine Crockett answered the assertions made by former Balch Springs Officer Roy Oliver in his response to the wrongful death lawsuit filed against him in the death of Jordan Edwards.

“What the public will know is that Officer Oliver spent a period of time where he was handling Jordan, where he was actually touching Jordan's hand,” Washington said. “If there’s any type of residue on Jordan's hand, I think that’s gonna be easily explainable.”

The attorneys refuted the never heard before claims made about Jordan Edwards and the others in the car that night made by Oliver through his civil attorney.

The former officer claimed that gunshot residue was found in Jordan’s hand and that one or more of the car occupants associated with or had been a gang member. He also claimed one or more of the car occupants fired a gun that evening.

“There was no gun. There was no gun fired. The young men aren’t affiliated with any gangs,” Washington said. “If they're affiliated with a gang, it’s a gang of young kids who are trying to get their education.”

“Even if we say that everything that was put in there was true, it doesn't matter if a gun had been fired that day. It doesn't matter if a gun was in that car. None of that matters,” Crockett said. “What matters is did Oliver say that anyone was shooting at him? No. Did Oliver ever say that anyone displayed a gun at him? No.”

The two narratives now in play about what we've heard about the 15-year-old and those with him when the shooting happened and that of Roy Oliver, which reveals what he thought at the moment and believes about the occupants of the Impala.

“This is more reason why I think they should release the body cam footage,” Washington said. “Because if people saw the body cam footage, the things that he's saying, they would see right away that it makes no sense.”