Former Oklahoma Cops Charged With Manslaughter In Black Man’s Fatal Shooting
Two former Oklahoma police officers have reportedly been charged with first-degree manslaughter following the fatal shooting of 29-year-old Quadry Sanders, a Black man, in December while responding to a 911 call of an alleged protective order violation.
According to the Oklahoman, ex-Lawton Officers Robert Hinkle, 30, and Nathan Ronan, 29, were charged after a monthslong probe by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.
Body camera footage released by the Lawton Police Department shows Sanders standing as he’s confronted by police outside of a home on December 5, 2021. The 911 caller reported Sanders was waving a gun in the house and wouldn’t let a resident leave, according to Comanche County District Attorney Kyle Cabelka.
The video shows Sanders appearing from around a refrigerator, his hands visible and holding a baseball cap, which he moved from his right to left hand. Sanders then moved partially behind the refrigerator, but was unarmed the full time.
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Hinkle shot four times at Sanders, who appeared to have his right hand raised above his head before falling to the ground. Sanders then appears to sit up with his hands above his head before Hinkle fires seven more times.
Ronan also fired four times at Sanders, Cabelka says, making it a total of 15 shots fired at him. Additionally Cabelka said no weapon was found on Sandors nor in the area where he was shot.
Civil rights attorney S. Lee Merritt, who is representing the Sanders family, said he wants the charges upgraded to murder.
“It really shocks the conscience when you have a chance to see Mr. Sanders literally doing whatever he could to try to save his own life, and these officers are operating with such callousness,” Merritt told KSWO-TV.
Hinkle and Ronan were reportedly fired from the police department on January 7. The pair were released Friday on a $25,000 bond and face a minimum of four years in state prison if convicted of the fatal shooting of Sanders. A hearing is scheduled for August 1.
