This Would Never Happen Without the Video

Roy Oliver, former of the Balch Springs Police Department, who gunned down Jordan Edwards has been charged with murder:

Roy Oliver, the fired Balch Springs police officer who shot and killed 15-year-old Jordan Edwards as he was driving away from a party, was arrested on a murder charge Friday night.

Oliver, 37, turned himself in at the Parker County Jail. Bond was set at $300,000. If convicted of murder, he faces up to life in prison. His attorney could not be reached for comment.

Oliver, who lives in Combine, fired a rifle into a car of teenagers as they drove away from a party Saturday night, striking Jordan, a passenger, in the head, police said. The six-year veteran of the department was fired Tuesday.

He was the second of two officers who responded to a report of underage drinking. After gunfire was heard in the area, Jordan and four other teenagers got in their car to leave.

Police originally said Oliver fired on the car because it was backing up aggressively toward the officers. But the department revised its account after reviewing body-cam footage, saying the car was driving away when Jordan was shot.

It wasn't a cell phone video this time, it was a body cam, but it reveals a truth:  Cops lie, a lot, and without video evidence, they almost never get caught.

Every body cam, and every cell phone camera, is a tool to keep law enforcement honest.

Without the video, Oliver would probably have gotten a commendation.