Last Updated on August 6, 2023, 2:59 AM | Published: July 28, 2023
OKLAHOMA CITY — Seven police officers who were previously charged in three different OKC metro police shootings in 2020 have all had their charges dropped by Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Behenna.
The charges had been filed by former DA David Prater, a former police officer, who chose not to run in the last election. Behenna was elected to office in November 2022 beating far-right Republican Kevin Calvey. Calvey had vowed to dismiss all charges against the very officers whose charges were dismissed by Behenna this week.
At a news conference late Friday afternoon, Behenna said that after hundreds of hours of her review along with six attorneys, plus the input of a California use-of-force expert, she had decided to dismiss all charges with prejudice.
Dismissing charges “with prejudice” means that the decision is permanent and won’t be refiled in the future. Behenna mistakenly said at first that the officers’ charges were being dismissed “without prejudice” but then, after prompting from her staff, corrected that to “with prejudice.”
Behenna said that “under Oklahoma law” the shootings were “justified.”
Normally fully composed when speaking to the press or the public, Behenna showed the most emotion during the news conference when she talked about meeting with each of the shooting victims’ family members.
When asked what those meetings were like. Behenna said, “Awful,” as her lip quivered and her eyes started to tear up.
In response to the decision, the Oklahoma City Police officers’ union president said, “… our officers followed their training and did what was necessary to protect themselves ….”
The mother of one person shot and killed by police, spoke out saying, “…it’s clear we need changes in the law.”
“Disappointed that these families won’t get any justice. Sad nobody is gonna be held accountable and these families are just left with open wounds,” OKC rapper and activist Jabee Wiliams told Free Press.
And, an Oklahoma City Councilmember said that it was, “… beyond tragic to see another instance of police officers being granted the power to take life with no accountability ….”
Stavian Rodriguez shooting
Stavian Rodriguez, 15, was shot and killed by officers in November 2020 who confronted him when Rodriguez and an accomplice were attempting to rob a convenience store on the Southside.
Although a much larger group of officers were present and pointing their weapons, five of the officers were charged with First-Degree Manslaughter by former DA David Prater.
The officers who were charged and now have those charges dismissed by the current DA Vicki Behenna are:
Officer Bethany Sears
Officer Jared Barton
Officer Corey Adams
Officer John Skuta
Officer Brad Pemberton
The charging document and three body-worn camera videos are embedded in our coverage when the charges were announced in 2020.
Protests and an open social media feud between a City Council member and police union leaders created tensions in Oklahoma City just months after the largest, multiple-day protests since the Vietnam War were held over the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
In July 2021, the City Council of Oklahoma City set aside $100,000 for outside legal counsel to defend both OKCPD Chief Gourley and the five officers in a lawsuit filed by the mother of Rodriguez, Cameo Holland in December 2020.
Statement by Rodriguez’s mother
Free Press reached out to Cameo Holland’s attorney, Rand Eddy for a statement late Friday afternoon after the news conference.
Through the attorney, her statement reads:
“When the District Attorney of Oklahoma County apologizes to your face for the justice system failing you, it’s clear we need changes in the law. That’s what happened today. Before I leave Oklahoma, laws that allow police officers to kill children will be changed and every police officer that is ever hired or trained by Oklahoma City Police Department will know my son’s name – Stavian Rodriguez.”
Bennie Edwards shooting
Bennie Edwards, a local black man with known mental illness who sold flowers around the city, was killed by Sgt. Clifford Holman who shot Edwards in the back as he was running away from Holman and two other OKCPD officers in December 2020, only a month after the Stavian Rodriguez shooting.
The police had been called initially when someone was offended by Edwards’ behavior outside a Northside supermarket.
When three OKCPD officers arrived, Edwards became agitated and brandished a pocket knife. Tased multiple times, Edwards still managed to pull off the control wires and tried to run away from all three officers.
The shooting drew outrage in the community that afternoon and into the evening of the same day, especially among leaders from Oklahoma City’s Eastside. Edwards had and still has numerous relatives who still live in Oklahoma City.
Free Press covered the peaceful protest in front of the OKC Police Headquarters that night.
Christopher Poor shooting
Christopher Poor was shot by City of The Village police officer Chance Avery in July 2020. Behenna dropped charges against Avery this week.
Poor was originally charged with first-degree manslaughter. Later, the charge was revised to second-degree murder plus an alternative first-degree manslaughter charge.
Avery was at Poor’s home to protect Poor’s wife who had asked for the police to accompany her to the home to collect some of her things after a fight with Poor. Poor came at Avery with a baseball bat a body-worn camera video showed.
OKC-FOP responds
After the news conference Friday, the Oklahoma City Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 123 which represents OKCPD officers, issued a statement about the charges being dropped.
“Our members are trained to make split-second, life-or-death decisions, even in the most unpredictable, chaotic situations,” he said.
“Attacks, ambush-style assaults, and line-of-duty deaths are at record highs in our profession. It is a tragedy any time someone in our city is killed or injured, and our officers are on the streets every day doing a dangerous job while trying to prevent harm and protect the innocent.”
“As we have maintained since this incident, our officers followed their training and did what was necessary to protect themselves and other Oklahoma City residents,” he said. “We are thankful District Attorney Behenna dropped these charges.”
OKC City Council member responds
Free Press gave Oklahoma City Council member JoBeth Hamon an opportunity to respond since Hamon had been the most vocal in her criticism of Oklahoma City Police policies in 2020.
This was Hamon’s response:
“My thoughts are with the families of Stavian Rodriguez and Bennie Edwards. It’s beyond tragic to see another instance of police officers being granted the power to take life with no accountability or repair for the harm done to those affected by these murders.
“It’s beyond time our City and County take action to invest in community response and services that can create real safety for everyone in our community by reducing interactions our residents have with police officers who can simply claim fear as an excuse for murdering one of our neighbors.”
Founder, publisher, and editor of Oklahoma City Free Press. Brett continues to contribute reports and photography to this site as he runs the business.
