Arlington Officer Brad Miller terminated after Christian Taylor shooting
Claire Z. Cardona Follow @clairezcardona Email
ccardona@dallasnews.com
Published: August 11, 2015 4:45 pm
The officer involved in the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Christian Taylor has been terminated, Arlington Police Chief Will Johnson said Tuesday.
Johnson cited several examples of poor judgment in the incident as reasons for Officer Brad Miller’s termination. He said he made the decision after receiving a briefing from investigators Tuesday morning and the decision was his alone.
Miller, 49, fatally shot Taylor, who was unarmed, during a burglary call at Classic Buick GMC near Interstate 20 and Collins Street early Friday. The incident began after private security for the car dealership called 911 shortly after 1 a.m. to report that Taylor was damaging a car in the parking lot.
“This is a extraordinarily difficult case,” Johnson said. “Decisions were made that have a catastrophic outcome.”
Miller’s poor judgement in tactics in the shooting officially led to his firing, but the fact that Taylor was shot and killed played a role in the chief’s decision, police spokesman Christopher Cook said.
Since Miller was still in field training at the time of the shooting, he cannot appeal the firing.
Johnson said that he had “serious concerns as to the rationale articulated as to the use of deadly force,” but believed those concerns are best addressed through a criminal investigations process.
Police are likely to refer the case to a grand jury, which will determine whether Miller should face criminal charges. None have been filed at this time. But, Cook said the medical examiner’s autopsy report will be key to when the case is presented to a grand jury.
Miller’s attorney, John Snider, said he was reviewing the chief’s statement before making any comments.
At Tuesday’s press conference, Johnson said he found some of the decisions made on the scene to be “troubling” and went through the series of events leading up to the shooting of which there is no video evidence.
Taylor and one of the six officers on scene came face-to-face on the either side of locked doors at the dealership showroom. The officer noticed that Taylor had a “bulge” in the pocket of his shorts, which Johnson said later turned out to be a wallet and cell phone. Johnson said that not knowing what the bulge was, it was reasonable for officers to assume that Taylor could have been armed.
Taylor held up a set of car keys and said through the door that he intended to steal a vehicle. The officer told him to get on the ground and he said no and attempted to open the locked door that was separating them, Johnson said.
After the officers determined the need to establish a perimeter on the west side of the building, Miller and his training officer, Cpl. Dale Wiggins, headed that way but Wiggins stopped to talk to the officer who was speaking with Taylor.
Miller kept going and after spotting the broken glass that Taylor had driven his Jeep through, entered into the showroom alone. Taylor ran to a different part of the building and tried to break through a glass door to get out, Johnson said.
Miller followed Taylor and told him to get on the ground. Taylor turned to Miller and began to “rapidly approach while cursing,” Johnson said. He said Miller retreated while giving commands.
Wiggins, urgently trying to rejoin Miller, entered the building and saw Taylor approaching Miller who was stationary. Wiggins removed his Taser from its holster and heard a pop. Johnson said he thought it was Miller deploying his Taser, but it turned out to be Miller firing his weapon the first time, though it’s unclear if he hit Taylor.
Wiggins used his Taser and Taylor continued to advance toward Miller, who then fired his weapon three more times. Taylor was about seven to 10 feet away from Miller when the shots were fired. During the course of the incident, there was no physical contact between Miller and Taylor, Johnson said.
Johnson said that Miller’s decision to go in alone without telling Wiggins his intent was not a good strategy and put the officers on scene “in a position of undue risk.”
He said Miller, who believed he was alone in the showroom, feared that Taylor could overpower him. Miller was unaware that his field training officer was about four feet away from him at the time of the shooting.
“This fear and feeling of isolation was a result of his poor decision to enter the building without assistance and without an arrest plan,” Johnson said.
Taylor, who was set to begin his sophomore year at Angelo State University, died at the scene. The Tarrant County medical examiner lists Taylor’s cause of death as gunshot wounds to the neck, chest and abdomen. A full autopsy report has not been released.
Miller, who joined the department in September, did not have any injuries, Johnson said. He has been placed on paid administrative leave. Wiggins, a 19-year veteran of the department, is also on paid leave.
Arlington police are currently sharing information and facts of the case with the FBI as they become available and Johnson said the FBI is prepared to “act accordingly if it’s determined that a civil rights violation occurred.”
