The Arlington, Texas, police recruit who fatally shot an unarmed college football player during a break-in at a car dealership early Friday has been fired, the police chief said Tuesday.
Christian Taylor, 19, was fatally shot by Arlington Police Officer Brad Miller, 49, after police were called to a break-in report at the Classic Buick GMC dealership at around 1:06 a.m.
Miller, a recruit officer who was undergoing supervised field training, entered the building alone and without telling other officers, setting into motion a chain of events that led to the deadly shooting, Arlington Police Chief Will Johnson told reporters Tuesday.
Miller told investigators he feared for his safety, Johnson said.
“This fear and feeling of isolation was the result of his poor decision to enter the building without assistance and without an arrest plan,” Johnson said.
Police were called to the dealership after Taylor allegedly kicked in the windshield of a Ford Mustang and then crashed his Jeep into a showroom door, police said.
Police found Taylor roaming inside the dealership, and an officer spoke with him through a glass door and ordered Taylor to get on the ground, Johnson said.
Miller and his supervising officer were tasked with setting up a perimeter, but Miller saw the crashed car and entered the showroom to make an arrest on his own, Johnson said.
That decision put the other officers at risk, and his supervising officer had to rush to rejoin Miller. By the time that officer arrived Taylor was cursing and moving towards Miller.
The officer heard a pop and thought Miller fired his Taser stun gun, but Miller had actually fired his service weapon, Johnson said. The supervising officer drew his own Taser and used it, and Miller fired three more times. Taylor never made any physical contact with any officer, Johnson said. A bulge in his pocket officers believed could have been a weapon turned out to be a wallet and a cell phone. “This is an extraordinarily difficult case,” Johnson said. “Decisions were made that have catastrophic outcomes.” The investigation is continuing and will be forwarded to the district attorney’s office, where it will be put before a grand jury, Johnson said. This article originally appeared on NBCNews.com.
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