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Five Oklahoma City cops shot 15-year-old gas station robber in hail of bullets, had he surrendered
#Stavian #OklahomaCity #Police #Shooting #Robbery #Teen
The five Oklahoma City police officers charged with first-degree manslaughter after a 15-year-old boy was fatally shot while allegedly attempting to rob a convenience store have been pictured for the first time.
Stavian Rodriguez was shot 13 times by officers responding to reports of an attempted armed robbery at a convenience store on November 23 last year.
The officers who have been charged after firing lethal rounds are: Bethany Sears, Jared Barton, Corey Adams, John Skuta and Brad Pemberton.
If convicted, they could face up to life in prison.
A sixth officer, Sarah Carli, was the first to fire a 'less-lethal' weapon and will not be charged, cops said.
Surveillance video obtained by KOCO appears to show Rodriguez attempting to cooperate with police when he was shot.
'Show us your hands, sir. Nobody has to get hurt,' cops tell Rodriguez over a speaker.
Rodriguez is seen climbing out of the drive-thru window with his hands raised, as cops scream: 'Hands!'
The boy then slowly moves his hand to his waistband and lifts his shirt to show cops that he is removing the weapon tucked into his jeans.
'Get face down on the ground,' cops order as Rodriguez removes the weapon and drops it to the floor.
'Oh, don't do that!' a male officer says to the kid as a female cop orders him to get on the ground and 'drop it.'
Rodriguez then reaches in his pocket in what appears to be an attempt to remove something else, as cops scream and multiple gun fire shots are heard.
Eventually, a commanding officer orders the cops to 'cease fire.'
Another video taken by KOCO's news crew, which was at the scene when the shooting happened, shows another view of the shooting.
'He had dropped his f**king gun. He had dropped his f**King gun!' a woman's voice is heard screaming.
Master Sergeant Gary Knight told the outlet immediately after the incident that: 'He came out with the gun in his hand, he did not follow officer's instructions while he came out with the gun in his hand. Ultimately, he was shot.'
Oklahoma City District Attorney David Prater has charged five of the responding officers with first-degree manslaughter.
After being shot with the 'less-lethal' round, five officers 'unnecessarily fire lethal rounds at Rodriguez, striking him numerous times and inflicting mortal wounds,' Prater's investigator, Willard Paige, wrote in an affidavit.
An autopsy determined Rodriguez suffered 13 gunshot wounds, Paige wrote. Officials have not yet revealed which officer fired the fatal shot.
It was also not immediately clear whether any of the officers had attorneys who could speak on their behalf, but John George, president of the Oklahoma City Fraternal Order of Police, defended their actions.
'Officers must make life and death decisions in a split second, relying on their training. When an armed robbery suspect did not obey police commands, five officers perceived the same threat and simultaneously fired their weapons,' he said.
'A loss of life is always a tragedy and we know these officers did not take firing their weapons lightly. The OKC FOP stands by these officers and maintains they acted within the law.'
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