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5 Oklahoma City cops charged with manslaughter in case of 15-year-old who was shot more than a dozen times

Mar 12, 2021, 01:48 IST
Insider
A police offer makes a call on his radio.ftwitty/Getty Images
  • Five Oklahoma officers are charged with manslaughter in the November killing of a 15-year-old.
  • The police officers shot the teenage robbery suspect 13 times as he left a gas station through a window.
  • Prosecutors say the officers "unnecessarily" fired their guns.
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Five Oklahoma City officers have been charged with manslaughter in connection with the shooting of a 15-year-old in November, the Oklahoman reported.

The officers, who are on paid leave, are: Bethany Sears, 30, Jared Barton, 33, Corey Adams, 28, Jonathan Skuta, 34, and Brad Pemberton, 31, according to the paper.

On November 23, the officers responded to an attempted robbery at a gas station and shot the suspect, Stavian Rodriguez, 13 times as he tried to climb out of a drive-through window, the paper reported.

Police at the time said he was holding a pistol and was shot after refusing to follow commands.

It was learned later through surveillance video that Rodriguez had already dropped the gun by the time he was shot.

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Oklahoma City Officer Sarah Carli first fired a "less lethal round," according to the complaint against the officers, which was viewed by The Oklahoman, The New York Times, and other news outlets. She was not charged.

The five other officers who were charged then "unnecessarily" fired their guns, hitting Rodriguez multiple times, prosecutors wrote.

The complaint was not immediately available on the state's court record database.

The charges were filed on the same day police released a body camera video from the day.

The footage shows Rodriguez dropped his gun and then reached for his back pocket at the moment officers fired.

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Rodriguez' mother, Cameo Holland, told The New York Times she believed her son's life amounted to more than just what happened at that store on the day he was killed.

She believes the officers should go to prison.

"The first thing that comes to mind is 'Praise God,' and I'm hopeful that they will be convicted," she told The Times' Michael Levenson. "The surprise is that the district attorney is willing to do the right thing and to charge all of them."

"I don't defend what he did at the store or even him being there," Holland said of her son, "but nobody should expect to be killed for committing a crime - not robbery."

A 17-year-old who police say participated in the robbery with Rodriguez was charged in December with first-degree murder for participating in a crime that lead to the teen's death, The New York Times reported.

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