The white Texas police officer who shot and killed a black, teenage college football player at a nearby Dallas auto dealership earlier this month has been fired over his flawed decision making.

In announcing officer Brad Miller's termination, Arlington police chief Will Johnson admitted the rookie officer had made a "series of troubling decisions" ending in the death of 19-year-old Christian Taylor. Yahoo! News reports Taylor was hit at least four times and suffered gunshot wounds to his neck, chest and abdomen.

Taylor thus becomes the latest unarmed black teen to die at the hands of a white police officer, a growing list that also includes recent victims Michael Brown in Missouri, Eric Garner in New York and Tamir Rice in Cleveland.

Authorities said Miller encountered Taylor at the Classic Buick GMC dealership, where security video surveillance allegedly captures the Angelo State University sophomore vandalizing vehicles.

Still, Johnson admits Miller failed to properly communicate with fellow officers and initially approached Taylor on his own without a plan for arrest. There were at least five other officers on scene, including the training officer for Miller, who tried to use his Taser.

"Based on a preponderance of evidence available to me and facts revealed by the investigative team, I have decided to terminate Officer Miller's employment with the Arlington police department for exercising poor judgment," Johnson said at a news conference.

Miller had told authorities he feared for his safety.

"This fear and feeling of isolation was the result of his poor decision to enter the building without assistance and without an arrest plan," said Johnson.

Reports are Taylor never made any contact with any of the officers and the bulge in his pocket some suspected of being a weapon turned out to be a wallet and a cell phone.

The investigation is ongoing and findings will be forwarded to the district attorney's office for consideration and for submission to a grand jury. The criminal investigation is expected to take several weeks.