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WASHINGTON. — On the eve of the one-year anniversary of the Ferguson unrest, triggered by the killing of a black teenager Michael Brown by a white police officer, a similar incident occurred in the northern Texas city of Arlington.
Christian Taylor, a 19-year-old black Texas college football player, was fatally shot by an officer during a burglary call on Friday.
Arlington police chief Will Johnson said the police were contacted on Friday at 1:05 am local time and were notified of an alleged burglary attempt as a Jeep had driven onto the showroom floor.
When officer Brad Miller and his partner entered the dealership, Taylor, who was caught on the private surveillance cameras, was allegedly jumping on parked cars before he was ultimately shot.
They spotted Taylor in the building and believed a felony burglary was in progress, Johnson said, adding that Miller fired his weapon four times after an altercation with Taylor.
The medical examiner has ruled Taylor’s death a homicide and determined the cause of death to be gunshot wounds to the neck, chest and abdomen.
However, no video footage of the scene was currently available to confirm the police report.
FBI was requested by police to do an exhaustive investigation.
Police said they would release 911 calls, scanner traffic and all video surveillance after all statements were taken, which was likely to occur within the next 7 to 10 days, the police chief said.
The shooting came amid increased scrutiny nationwide of police use of force, particularly in cases involving black suspects.
The Arlington officer was identified as Brad Miller, a 49-year-old white with no police experience before joining the department last September after graduation from the police academy last March.
He is placed on administrative leave, a routine in such cases.
The shooting, another one in which the white police has killed an unarmed black for insufficient causes, resonated on social media, with posts questioning the official account that Taylor was committing a robbery.
Questions abound why there was no video of the altercation.
Ferguson was the start of a year of turmoil and outrage as one black suspect after another died at the hands of US police. — Xinhua.
Online Reporter