Johnson released the audio in response to multiple videos circulating that used scanner audio to claim that Taylor was shot about one second after being seen by police. According to the audio released Monday, police first saw Taylor at 1:17:22 a.m. Friday morning. A report of shots fired comes over the radio two minutes later at 1:19:33 a.m..
The Arlington Police Department is releasing police radio communications related to the officer-involved shooting that occurred on August 7, 2015. There has been a YouTube video that was put out that grossly misrepresents the facts and makes a false claim that Mr. Christian Taylor was shot by police in less than 1 second after APD officers made contact with him. The audio which they relied upon and published was not official audio provided by APD and had segments of time removed. This audio file contains the police radio communications in real-time with no segments of time removed. It is the desire of APD to conduct an expeditious, thorough and transparent investigation and provide accurate information to the public.
Taylor was shot after he drove his car through the gate, and then the front door, of the Classic Arlington car dealership. In video released Saturday, he can be seen jumping on the hoods of cars before apparently stomping in a windshield. Miller, on the force for less than year, fired his gun four times, hitting Taylor, who was unarmed, at least twice. The police officer, currently on administrative leave, gave APD his a statement about the shooting today, as did his partner.
Monday afternoon, Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams backed Johnson's promise to continue to publicly release information as it becomes feasible to do so.
"In the coming days, as the investigation unfolds, we will be providing the community with updated information," he said in an open letter. "The racial dynamics of police incidents around the country have driven a wedge between community groups. That’s not characteristic of Arlington, Texas and we don’t want this incident to derail our progress."
The Arlington chapter of the NAACP expressed worry Sunday that the results of the investigation into Taylor's death wouldn't be made public in a timely manner, citing the March death of Jonathan Paul in Arlington City Jail. Video of that incident has yet to be released, and Paul's family has sued Johnson and the city of Arlington.
Johnson has asked Tom Class, FBI special agent in charge of the Dallas field office, to help with the investigation.
