DALLAS (AP) – An officer who shot and killed a black motorist in Texas last month during a traffic stop has not given a statement to detectives in the criminal investigation, police said in a statement Friday.
More than a month and a half following the Sept. 1 shooting, Arlington police identified Bau Tran as the officer who shot 24-year-old O’Shae Terry. The department had previously withheld his identity over safety concerns.
The agency has completed its criminal investigation into the shooting and given the case to prosecutors, according to the department statement.
Arlington police spokesman Lt. Christopher Cook said Tran has not provided a statement in the criminal probe, but did give a statement about the shooting for the administrative investigation.
The release says Tran is on “restricted duty status” until the end of the administrative investigation.
In the lead up to the Sept. 1 shooting, Tran responded to the traffic stop as backup to officer Julie Herlihy, who had stopped the SUV over a vehicle registration violation. Police video footage shows Tran grabbing onto the passenger-side window and the SUV moving away. Then gunshots can be heard.
Terrance Harmon was a passenger in the SUV when the gunfire broke out. His attorney Lee Merritt has said police have talked to his client about the traffic stop but not about what he saw when the officer opened fire, killing Harmon’s childhood friend.
Yet, Cook said Harmon was asked about the shooting during an on-scene interview, which lasted about 14 minutes.
