Who is Officer Cruise from The Hate You Give?

Officer Brian Cruise is the policeman who shot and killed Khalil at the beginning of the novel, mistaking the hairbrush in his car for a gun. Cruise is a co-worker of Starr's Uncle Carlos, who is suspended from the force for punching Cruise after Starr tells him that Cruise pointed his gun at her. Cruise's badge number is 1-15, and Starr refers to him by this number before she learns his name. Cruise's father conducts a television interview claiming that Khalil was speeding and Officer Cruise feared for his life during the traffic stop. This is the only defense the reader is given of Cruise, who never speaks for himself.