Oklahoma County sheriff's deputies on paid leave after man sets himself on fire during eviction
Two Oklahoma County sheriff’s deputies are on paid administrative leave after a man set himself on fire during an eviction proceeding at a home in northwest Oklahoma City.
Anthony Goulding, 82, died after setting himself on fire at home on Flamingo Avenue near W Hefner and N Council roads.
Deputy body camera footage appears to show Goulding pouring gasoline from a can onto a floor in the home and lighting the fuel before deputies could stop him.
The deputies quickly pulled Goulding’s wife — whom the sheriff’s office didn’t name but said is diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease — to safety outside the house.
The sheriff’s office said one of the two deputies suffered a minor burn to her arm.
“Obviously they are dealing with psychological trauma,” spokesman Aaron Brilbeck said.
Sheriff Tommie Johnson III said this week that one of the deputies had been working with the couple the last few weeks “to find them somewhere to stay, understanding that this eviction was going to take place.”
Johnson said a long-term place for the couple to stay had been located and an Uber was waiting outside their home Monday to take them to the location.
There were no signs that deputies would meet resistance in processing the eviction, Johnson said.
Still, deputies working in the judicial services division, which serves people with eviction notices, protective orders and other legal documents, face potential danger when out in the field, Johnson said.
“I think oftentimes that judicial division gets kind of the label of it’s safe because we’re serving papers,” Johnson said at a news conference. “There's nothing safe about judicial. You are dealing with people's emotions each and every day.”
In 2022, sheriff’s Sgt. Bobby Swartz was shot and killed after attempting to deliver an eviction notice to an Oklahoma City residence. Deputy Mark Johns also was hit and almost died.
Benjamin Plank was charged in Oklahoma County District Court with first-degree murder and three counts of shooting with intent to kill in connection with that incident.
A judge has ordered a mental health examination to determine if Plank is mentally competent.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma County deputies on leave after seeing man set himself on fire
