Tre'shun Symone Miller
Birth date:
October 8, 1998
Death date:
January 12, 2019
Age at Death:
20
About
Mr. Miller was an influencer and a skeptic, always challenging the status quo. Among his friends and community, he was seen as a leader and a knowledge-seeker.
Reports indicate that Mr. Miller was a passenger in a vehicle being stopped due to not using a turn signal. Police reported that they smelled marijuana and called for backup because there were three males in the car driven by a woman. When backup arrived, the police asked the driver and her front seat passenger, Mr. Miller, to step out of the car. Mr. Miller tried to run away from the officers, and while being pursued, pulled a weapon and shot first at the pursuing officers, who returned fire and shot Mr. Miller. Circumstances around his immediate care for the two gunshots has been the subject of reports - that he was unattended, bleeding out for 12 minutes, then taken first to a level 1 trauma hospital, then Arlington PD decided to transport him to a second hospital, reportedly not prepared to service the type of trauma he had. He later died. Source: https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/police-investigating-officer-involved-shooting-in-arlington-police/6978/
Was justice served?
Unclear. In 2020, the family released a documentary detailing and contextualizing the controversial case called The Consequence of Knowledge. Dashcam and body cam footage appears to support the police recount of the circumstances. Mr. Miller running away from officers after being asked to step out, then him pulling a gun, and video that seems to support his firing at the officers strengthens the officer's defense. But the underlying issue is twofold a) why pull over the car for the signal, call for back up and b) a "failure to render aid" when Mr. Miller was on the ground and the decision to transport to a second hospital. Source: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2019/01/18/arlington-police-release-footage-showing-fatal-shootout-during-traffic-stop/