Five Oklahoma City police officers were charged with manslaughter in connection with the death of a 15-year-old boy who was suspected of an armed robbery last year.
Stavian Rodriguez died on November 23, after police officers were called in for an assault on an Okie Gas Express, Oklahoma City police said at the time. A clerk managed to escape from the store and leave Rodriguez locked inside while the police arrived to surround the scene, police said.
Rodriguez, who the police say is armed, left the store through a window where police were waiting outside. According to the police report, Rodriguez did not follow the official’s orders and the police shot him. The teenager died at a nearby medical center.
Rodriguez’s family does not dispute that he was armed, but claims that he followed the official’s orders to drop the gun and was not armed when he was shot.
Six police officers were placed on administrative leave, the department said in November.
The Oklahoma City district attorney filed charges of manslaughter against the five officers who fired their weapons at Rodriguez, Oklahoma City police said in a statement on Wednesday. The sixth police officer, who fired a less lethal weapon, faces no criminal prosecution.
Rodriguez died after suffering 13 gunshot wounds, according to a probable cause statement from the Oklahoma County District Attorney. The testimony alleges that the policemen shot Rodriguez unnecessarily after the policemen “simultaneously gave him several commands”.
“Stavian Rodriguez had no weapon other than the firearm, which he dropped before he was shot,” said the statement. “A cell phone was retrieved from the back left pocket in which he had his hand at the time it was shot.”
Surveillance video provided by the public prosecutor’s office shows Rodriguez coming out of the window and placing what appears to be a gun on the floor. He then seems to reach for his pants before the cops open fire.
Rodriguez’s mother, Cameo Holland, filed a lawsuit against the city last month demanding access to the recordings after her request to open records went unanswered.
Holland’s lawsuit alleges that a viewer’s video, which was not seen by NBC News, challenged police statements that his son did not obey the police. The lawsuit said witnesses observed Stavin complying with demands and being shot unarmed.
Rand Eddy, a lawyer from the Netherlands, classified the pending charges as a step towards justice and referred to the department’s shooting statistics on the MappingPoliceViolence.org website.
“The Oklahoma City Police Department has perpetuated the killing of innocent and unarmed people for decades,” said Eddy. “It has the second highest homicide rate per capita in the country. From the many forms of justice that Stavian and his family deserve, we hope to see an end to this senseless violence and tragedy in our community. “
The police released a video of the body’s camera, seen by NBC News, of five different policemen who fired their weapons. It is unclear what happened before the video was recorded and none of the angles offer a clear view of Rodriguez before the shots are fired.
The video shows the clerk talking to the police, informing them that Rodriguez was locked inside the house and had a gun.
The policemen waited outside near the gas stations with their guns drawn and asked Rodriguez to leave with their hands up. One officer noted that Rodriguez appeared to be “messing with something”.
“He may be calling his mother,” said a police officer. “Like, ops.” “I was wrong,” another police officer laughed.
Someone asks Rodriguez for a loudspeaker to lower the gun and move face-down. The police can be heard discussing whether they can enter the store, but they discover that the keys are locked inside. They also discuss calling the store’s phone in an effort to speak to Rodriguez.
Several minutes pass before Rodriguez starts to walk out of a store window.
“No one needs to get hurt, just show your hands,” the police said over the speaker. Later, the voice repeats: “Face down, on the floor.”
Shots can be heard in the footage, but body cameras are obstructed by cars or police officers’ forearms. An officer is moving while the shots are fired, and Rodriguez is seen only briefly falling to the ground.
John George, president of the Oklahoma City Police Fraternal Order, defended the officers for making a life-and-death decision “in a split second.”
“When an armed robbery suspect did not obey police commands, five policemen realized the same threat and simultaneously fired their weapons,” said George. “The loss of life is always a tragedy and we know that these policemen did not take firearms seriously. OKC FOP supports these officials and claims that they acted within the law. “