Ah, to be 15 again. For me that was my first year of high school. My interests were playing football, basketball, and baseball for my high school. When I was not in school, I enjoyed playing military strategy and tactics board games, maybe enjoy some games on our Atari 2600, building models, target shooting, etc. You know. Things that 15 year olds might typically do.
One thing that never occurred to me back then was to rob a gas station.
Either times have changed, or they must do things differently in Oklahoma city, because that’s exactly what Stavian Rodriguez, age 15, did back in November. And because he didn’t follow police orders, five OKC police officers are now facing manslaughter charges after shooting him to death.
5 Oklahoma City Officers charged in deadly shooting of 15-year old robbery suspect, body cam footage released
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Five Oklahoma City Police officers have been charged in connection to a deadly shooting in November.
The victim is 15-year old Stavian Rodriguez.
He was a suspect in an armed robbery call in November.
Suspect, my ass. He was crawling out of the drive-through window with a gun. Guilty.
The incident was investigated and presented to the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office for review.
On March 9, 2021, the department was informed that the District Attorney would be filing the charge of Manslaughter in the First Degree on the following officers, who discharged their firearms during the incident:
Officer Bethany Sears (5 ½ years of service)
Officer Jared Barton (4 ½ years of service)
Officer Corey Adams (3 years of service)
Officer John Skuta (2 ½ years of service)
Officer Brad Pemberton (3 years of service)All the officers are currently on paid administrative leave. The District Attorney’s Office did not file charges against Sergeant Sarah Carli, who fired a less lethal weapon.
In November, Oklahoma City officers were called to the Okie Gas Express, located near Western Ave. and I-240, regarding an armed robbery.
During the robbery, the store clerk fled the store and locked the alleged suspect inside the building.
When officers arrived, they surrounded the business.
Authorities say officers ordered the suspect, Rodriguez, to come out of the store.
At that point, investigators say Rodriguez climbed out of the drive-thru window, holding a pistol.
Officials say he refused to follow commands and was shot by five officers on the scene. He was rushed to OU Medical Center, where he died from his injuries.
Rodriguez’s mother filed a lawsuit against the City of Oklahoma City, demanding the release of body camera footage of the deadly incident.
“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.
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.”
JOHN GEORGE, PRESIDENT OF THE OKLAHOMA FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE
Now let’s see the video:
OK. In the video we see that initially, Rodriguez complies with officer commands and drops a weapon but then ignores the commands to get on the ground. At this point witness claim that the little devil was pulling up his pants.
Because he was a thug-in-training, he was wearing the required uniform of Thug University; pants that sag down below your ass so the world has to look at your boxers. And it was said pants that proved his undoing.
Yet, how are the cops on the scene to know what the hell this kid was doing? An armed robber, who just placed one weapon on the ground could have easily had another weapon in the back of his pants as well as another in his front pocket.
He refused to comply with officers and get on the ground while they pointed multiple firearms at him. You know, I’m sorry but that’s just stupidity. If I was in that situation, I don’t care if my pants are falling down around my ankles and I’m wearing a gold sequined thong under them, I’m still getting on the ground. Embarrassment be damned.
There’s no way these officers should be convicted. Indeed, perhaps they should be praised for removing this juvenile offender from society before he grew older and caused more harm to society.
Opinions?
