College Football Player Shot by Police Was Unarmed

A police officer in suburban Dallas shot and killed a college football player during a struggle after the unarmed 19-year-old crashed a car through the front window of a car dealership, authorities said. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office identified the dead man as Christian Taylor of Arlington. Taylor was a sophomore at Angelo State University in San Angelo. Officers were responding to a burglary call about 1am yesterday in Arlington when they discovered someone had driven a vehicle through a front window of the Classic Buick GMC, according to a statement from the Arlington Police Department. The statement said police approached the suspect and a struggle ensued. At some point during the struggle, an officer shot Taylor.

Police identified the officer as Brad Miller, a 49-year-old who has been with the department since last September and who has been working under the supervision of a training officer since his graduation from the police academy in March. The police statement said Miller had no police experience before joining the Arlington police force. He will be placed on administrative leave. The case is resonating on social media, with posts questioning the official account that Taylor was committing a robbery and asking why there was no video of the altercation. By last night, #ChristianTaylor was trending on Twitter. "They say he's burglarizing the place by running up in there? Nuh-uh. Something doesn't sound right," his great-uncle tells the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. (More police shooting stories.)