A North Texas man is rejecting the #BlackLivesMatter tag after his son was killed by a rookie police officer. Adrian Taylor told The Dallas Morning News last week he didn’t want to turn Christian Taylor’s killing into a white-on-black crime.

There’s no winner in this. We’re both losers. I feel for him [[ the officer who shot his son ]] and I pray for him

This is a really important statement and it’s unfortunate not a lot of people are talking about it. Gawker focused on the comments by Arlington Police Chief Will Johnson saying Officer Brad Miller showed “poor judgment.” The New York Times did the same thing. The Washington Post was the only national outlet who bothered talking to Adrian Taylor. His comments to WP were the same as his comments to The Dallas Morning News [[emphasis mine]].

“I’m not a man of revenge, and the results can’t bring my son back…Right now I just feel sorry for my family and his family and for the whole nation. I just hope it makes a change because this is happening too much. “

How thoughtful is that. Adrian Taylor is showing a lot more forgiveness than most people would. He takes it a step further and points out his son wasn’t innocent in the situation in the Arlington car dealership where he was killed.

“It appears to the whole world that wasn’t him. We’re trying to get the [toxicology] reports back. That’s the main question everybody wants to know.”

This also shows more wisdom than a lot of parents seem to have when their child gets in trouble. There are plenty of times when parents of any race say their kid was just a sweet angel, and would never get into trouble. Taylor says his son did something wrong and he should be praised for acknowledging this. But Taylor also points out he doesn’t think his son should have been killed. There’s something to be said for police using non-lethal force before switching to lethal force in certain instances. Miller’s training officer went for his Taser first, while Miller went for his gun. Maybe Miller panicked when he saw Christian Taylor running towards him. Maybe he forgot his training officer was behind him or just decided to charge in to play “hero cop.” No one really knows what was going on through Miler’s mind at the time of the shooting.

Miller’s attorney certainly thinks the police chief cut him from the force to appease the #BlackLivesMatter bunch.

Officer Miller made decisions in the heat of a violent confrontation to save his and other officers’ lives. A four day “investigation” and media theatrics are not even close to due process. This decision, while politically expedient for Chief Johnson, is an insult to the rank and file officers who put their lives on the line every day.

However, Johnson has every right to let Miller go. He was still on probation because he graduated from the academy in March. Former Reno Police Officer Tim Dees wrote on Quora.com last year most officers are fired during field training because of poor decision-making skills and not understanding use of force rules.

A law enforcement officer makes more decisions in a workday than some people make in a week or a month, and many of them have a drastic impact on peoples’ lives. You have to be able to make decisions quickly and be willing to live with the consequences…Using force against another person is repulsive to most peace-loving folks, and that distaste has to be overcome to be a cop. At the same time, you can’t be so eager to use force to compel people that it becomes your primary go-to option. If you do use force, you have to choose the appropriate level and tools, and you have to know where and when to stop. Cops err on both sides of this balance. One will use more force than is needed, or will use force when the same end could be accomplished by simply asking someone, or maybe being a bit more diplomatic. Another is so reluctant to use force that he will get hurt, or get others hurt, because he can’t overcome the most basic level of resistance.

Miller can’t appeal his firing, so who knows what he’s going to do. It’s unfortunate because it really appears he became a police officer because he wanted to help people. His pastor told The Dallas Morning News Miller wanted to make a difference. A teen who knew both Miller and Christian Taylor called him very helpful and a very nice man. There are two sides to everything here and it really appears both men made mistakes. Adrian Taylor certainly has no hate for Miller.

“The officer lost his job, his dream. But more than that, a life was lost. And both of our lives were changed.”

It again raises questions why only two outlets were willing to report on Adrian Taylor’s words. Were they not interested in listening or had they already moved on to the next news story because Miller was fired? Honestly, no one knows. The #BlackLivesMatter crew probably isn’t talking about it because it doesn’t fit their narrative. It’s just unfortunate because Taylor showed a lot wisdom and is seeking to deescalate things, instead of causing more riots and chaos. He should be praised for his words. It’s just too bad his son had to die, for everyone to learn how wise he is.