Oklahoma County grand jury clears Del City police officer in shooting last year
A Del City police officer will not be charged for shooting a man in the chest last August after a football game at Choctaw High School ended in chaos.
An Oklahoma County grand jury decided against indicting the officer after reviewing police bodycam videos and hearing from him and nine other witnesses.
The officer was not identified. He was working off-duty on security at the football game Aug. 25. District Attorney Vicki Behenna announced the decision Thursday in a news release.
Del City Police Chief Loyd A. Berger expressed appreciation to the grand jurors but said, "There is still an active and ongoing investigation related to the incident."
Demetrize Carter, 43, of Oklahoma City, was hospitalized after the shooting. His Dallas-based civil rights attorney, Billy Clark, said Friday he continues to suffer from the ordeal, faces more surgeries and may never be able to work again because of the pain.
"It’s unfortunate that Del City police can take their inadequately trained, culturally insensitive officers on the road to other communities like Choctaw and create an incident for Choctaw," Clark said.
In dispute in the incident was whether Carter was armed.
His attorney has insisted he did not have a weapon.
"He raised his hands like, 'Look, please don't shoot; I'm an adult trying to stop this,' and before you know it, the officer just shot him," Clark said last year.
The officer's attorney, Gary James, said Thursday that grand jurors saw an enhanced bodycam video that reflects it is more probable than not that Carter had a gun.
"I believe the video reflects when he falls he throws the gun backward under the Del City police unit," James said.
The officer who fired and another off-duty Del City police officer very clearly saw the same threat, he also said.
One teenager was killed in Del City shooting
The officer-involved incident came after a teenager was fatally shot in the third quarter during an argument. A murder case against another teenager was dismissed in January after the key witness recanted what he told Choctaw police.
The slain teenager has been identified both as Cordea Carter and Cordae Carter. He was 16. He and Demetrize Carter are not related.
The game was Choctaw against Del City. Investigating the fatal shooting was the Choctaw Police Department. Investigating the officer-involved shooting was the Oklahoma County sheriff's office.
Grand jurors called in a report for better coordination and training among law enforcement.
They specifically suggested "those involved in this investigation receive further training regarding crime scene processing and investigative techniques." They also specifically recommended that all law enforcement officers be equipped with gloves for handling physical evidence.
The grand jury recommended that all school districts implement additional security measures for all extracurricular events.
Grand jurors specifically recommended that schools require students to have identification to get in, that metal detectors be at entrances and that surveillance cameras be installed at the venue and parking lots.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma County grand jury clears Del City police officer in shooting
