FBI to assist in probe of Texas football player's death

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The FBI will participate in the investigation into the death of a Texas college football player who was fatally shot by an officer during a burglary call at a car dealership, a suburban Dallas police chief said Saturday.

During a news conference Saturday night, Arlington police chief Will Johnson said a special FBI agent in charge of the Dallas field office would take part in the probe. He stressed it "in no way diminishes my confidence" in local officers to conduct the investigation.

Arlington officer Brad Miller was placed on administrative leave after the Friday shooting of 19-year-old Christian Taylor. Police say the officer never before fired his weapon in the line of duty.

Johnson said Miller and another officer found Taylor "freely roaming" inside the dealership when they arrived. After Taylor tried to escape from another side of the building, the other officer used his Taser, and Miller fired four rounds with his service weapon, Johnson said.

Police had gone to the Classic Buick GMC in Arlington, about 10 miles west of Dallas, after being contacted by a company that manages security cameras at the car dealership. Police were advised someone had driven a car onto the lot, started to damage another car, then drove his vehicle into the glass front of the showroom, a police sergeant said earlier Saturday.

Brad Miller

Taylor, who was black, was shot by a white police officer two days before the anniversary of the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, an unarmed, black 18-year-old whose death galvanized the "Black Lives Matter" movement and sparked protests.

Johnson mentioned that climate during the news conference, noting "our nation has been wrestling with the topics of social injustice, inequities, racism and police misconduct" and his department would "pledge to act in a transparent manner."

Some of the nationwide criticism of police use of force in the last year has happened online, and Taylor's death resonated on social media, with some posts questioning the official account and calling for video to be released.

Police say they are investigating Taylor's death as a possible criminal case and to determine whether department rules were broken.

Miller, 49, has been with the Arlington Police Department since last September and has been working under the supervision of a training officer since his graduation from the police academy in March, according to police. Miller had no police experience before joining the Arlington police force.