OKLAHOMA CITY — Six police officers fired on one man who they believed pointed a firearm at them but the man was not hit. The man they were firing at is now in the Oklahoma County Jail.
All six officers are currently on routine administrative leave pending the outcome of the departmental investigation.
According to information provided by the Oklahoma City Police Department, they are:
- Sgt. Troy Nitzky – nine years of service
- Officer Erik Ulmer – five years of service
- Officer Alex Roush – three and one-half years of service
- Officer Robert Learned – eight months of service
- Officer Thomas Wible – eight months of service
- Officer Julia McLaughlin – eight months of service
On Friday, April 12 at 10:07 PM, patrol officers were sent to the 200 block of SE 54th Street in response to reports of gunfire.
After their arrival, officers determined that Juan Castorenna-Guerrero, 59, at 243 SE 54th Street may have been the one whom neighbors were reporting as shooting a gun outside.
Police report that their officers called for the man to come outside.
According to Capt. Valerie Littlejohn, PIO with OKCPD, when Castorenna-Guerrero came outside he had a gun in his hand.
“Officers gave Mr. Castorenna-Guerrero verbal commands to drop the gun. He did not drop the gun, so an officer deployed a 40mm less lethal round toward him,” said the press release from Littlejohn.
Police fired at Castorenna-Guerrero with a 40mm bean bag projectile. In response, he raised the gun and pointed it at police.
It was at that point that six officers fired on Castorenna-Guerrero. He retreated into his house.
Eventually, Castorenna-Guerrero came back out without the gun and surrendered.
Police then found that after the six officers had fired shots, Castorenna-Guerrero had not been hit.
Castorenna-Guerrero was booked close to midnight the same day into the Oklahoma County Jail on a single complaint of Pointing a Firearm.
Note: As of publication, the information provided by the OKCPD has not yet been tested in court. Under the law, all persons are considered innocent until proven guilty before a jury of their peers or a plea of guilt.
Founder, publisher, and editor of Oklahoma City Free Press. Brett continues to contribute reports and photography to this site as he runs the business.
