Charges dropped against 5 Oklahoma City officers who fatally shot 15-year-old

By Jared Formanek and Ray Sanchez, CNN

(CNN) — Manslaughter charges have been dropped against five Oklahoma City police officers who fatally shot a 15-year-old armed robbery suspect in 2020, a prosecutor said Friday.

The five officers were charged in the death of Stavian Rodriguez after the teen dropped a firearm to the ground, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed by the previous Oklahoma County district attorney.

District Attorney Vicki Behenna said Friday the charges were dismissed with prejudice – meaning they can’t be refiled – along with criminal charges filed against two additional officers in separate fatal shootings in 2020.

Behenna said the “difficult” decision follows an independent review of the cases by a legal team and Clarence Chapman, a use-of-force expert and law enforcement veteran – who determined the shootings were justified after examining body camera footage and other evidence, CNN affiliate KOCO reported.

“This was not a quick, spur-of-the-moment decision,” the prosecutor said. “This was a very difficult, very fact-intensive decision and review.”

Rodriguez’s mother, Cameo Holland, said in a statement released to KOCO by her attorney that she will push for changes in laws related to police-involved shootings.

“Before I leave Oklahoma, laws that allow police officers to kill unarmed 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,” Holland said.

Behenna was elected Oklahoma County district attorney in November. The decision to charge the seven officers was made by her predecessor, David Prater.

Prater told The Oklahoman on Friday he stood by his decision to file charges against the officers.

“There’s been no communication with Mrs. Behenna or her team regarding this filing decision since she took office,” Prater told the newspaper.

Behenna said she met with the families of the victims before Friday’s announcement. Asked to describe their reactions, she characterized them as “awful.” She also met with community leaders and police administration.

“These families are grieving,” the prosecutor told reporters. “This decision that has been made is difficult. And no matter what this office does or says, these families are forever changed.”

Behenna said future cases involving fatal officer-involved shootings will be investigated and presented to a grand jury.

Rodriguez’s shooting was the highest profile of the three prosecutions affected by Behenna’s decision.

Officers Bethany Sears, Jared Barton, Corey Adams, John Skuta and Brad Pemberton were all charged with first-degree manslaughter in March 2021.

A sixth officer, who fired a less-lethal round, was not charged, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

The shooting happened on November 23, 2020, when officers were called to a report of an armed robbery at a gas station, according to the affidavit. The clerk fled the store during the robbery and locked the suspect inside by himself.

Numerous officers arrived, set up a perimeter around the building and issued commands over a loudspeaker for Rodriguez to come out of the store, the affidavit stated.

Video surveillance showed the teen then climbed out of the drive-through window, according to the court document.

Body camera footage showed multiple Oklahoma City police officers simultaneously giving him various commands. The document stated that Rodriguez lifted his shirt to show his waistline, pulled a firearm from his pants with his left hand – holding it by his thumb and forefinger – and dropped the firearm on the ground.

Rodriguez then put his left hand in his rear left pocket and his right hand at his front right pocket or waistline, the document stated.

At that point, the officer who was not charged fired a 40 mm “less lethal” round that struck Rodriguez, according to the affidavit. The five other officers then “unnecessarily” fired lethal rounds at him, striking him 13 times, the document said.

Rodriguez had no other weapons on him; a cell phone was recovered from his back left pocket, the affidavit stated.

Body camera footage from five of the officers provided to CNN by the police department did not show the actual shooting, but officers can be heard yelling for Rodriguez to show them his hands.

Surveillance footage released by the previous district attorney showed Rodriguez stepping out of the window and pulling a gun out of his waistband as officers were yelling for him to show them his hands and drop the gun. He appeared to be putting his hand down on his left side, and officers opened fire seconds later.

The other two fatal police-involved shootings in which charges were dropped involved the deaths of 60-year-old Bennie Edwards in December 2020 and Christopher Poor in July 2020, KOCO reported.

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