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A Tarrant County grand jury decided not to indict former Arlington police officer Brad Miller for killing an unarmed 19-year-old man last August at a car dealership on Interstate 20.
Miller, his training officer Dale Wiggins and four other officers answered an alarm at the Classic Arlington early on August 8. They found Christian Taylor, 19, had driven his car through the window of the dealership and was vandalizing cars. An autopsy later revealed Taylor had THC and the synthetic drug commonly known as N-BOMB in his body. N-BOMB, the Tarrant County Medical Examiner said, can cause hallucinations and erratic behavior.
Taylor was not armed.
Miller was the first officer to enter the building and encounter Taylor. Taylor, a football player at Angelo State University in San Angelo, initially ignored Miller’s commands, Miller said, before running away. When Miller and Wiggins caught up to Taylor, he still ignored orders. Wiggins fired his Taser at Taylor, but the shot failed to immobilize him.
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Miller then shot Taylor four times, hitting him in the neck and chest. Taylor died before he made it to the hospital.
During the investigation that followed the shooting, Miller was fired by Arlington Police Chief Will Johnson for failing to follow department procedures during the shooting. After the investigation was completed, the case was referred to a Tarrant County grand jury, which announced Wednesday that it had not found enough evidence to indict Miller.
Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson said Wednesday afternoon that she respected the grand jury’s decision. The police department did not issue a statement.
