Over the past year or so there has been much more attention given to police shootings of unarmed men from the African-American community. On Friday, that troubling trend crossed over to the world of college football. Christian Taylor, a 19-year old sophomore defensive back for Division 2 Angelo State, was shot and killed by a police officer in Arlington. The shooting brought an end to a struggle after police responded to a call about a burglary in Arlington, Taylor’s hometown.
According to a statement released by police Friday, the officer who shot Taylor is 49-year old Brad Miller had no police experience before joining the Arlington police force last September. He had been working under supervision since graduating from the police academy in March. Miller has been placed on administrative leave while an independent criminal and administrative investigations commence. Miller was among the responding officers to the 1 a.m. call for burglary when police discovered someone had driven a vehicle through a front window of a car dealership.
These are the types of stories we think we will not have to cover on a college football website, but alas this is another reminder that these types of tragedies can happen in any realm in which we live. Sports may be an escape for many of us from the troubles and pains of the real world problems that exist to this day, yet sports is not impenetrable to the harsh reality there is no true escape. There may still be much to learn about this particular incident in the days moving forward, but for now Taylor’s name is added to a painfully growing list of victims whose lives could have been handled differently when it mattered most.
Photo credit: Angelo State Athletics