Oklahoma County grand juries are rare. New DA now wants one available to review police shootings

An Oklahoma County grand jury is being convened to review police shootings, including one at the Del City-Choctaw football game Aug. 25 that left a man in the hospital.

The new district attorney, Vicki Behenna, requested the grand jury "to investigate and potentially issue indictments on officer-involved shootings that occur within Oklahoma County."

She made the request Aug. 28, and Oklahoma County's presiding administrative judge agreed Aug. 30. The request and order were made public last week.

Behenna took office in January. She had said in July she would rely on grand jurors to investigate police shootings "moving forward."

Oklahoma County DA drops charges against seven police officers in fatal shootings

She made the announcement at a news conference about her decision to drop three criminal cases against seven police officers involved in fatal shootings.

"I think that's what most metropolitan areas do," she said. "And I feel confident in the grand jury process that we can do a thorough review of the case and make decisions ... that are evidence-based and consistent with the law in Oklahoma."

She said at the time she would use the state's multicounty grand jury to review fatal shootings. David Prater, the previous Oklahoma County DA, had made the decisions to clear or charge officers himself.

In her request, Behenna wrote "there are currently two separate officer-involved shootings," one resulting in a woman's death and the one at the football game at Choctaw High School.

"I don't believe it will be necessary to have the members of the grand jury convene every month, but it is important to have a grand jury convened and able to be called into service when evidence is made available," she wrote.

What to know about the fatal OKC shooting, Choctaw football shooting

Fatally shot in Oklahoma City in May was Shari Vincent, 44. Police said a U.S. marshal shot her after a car chase when she pulled a gun. She had just been charged in Cleveland County District Court with malicious injury to property and stalking.

Hit in the chest at the Aug. 25 football game was Demetrize Carter, 43, of Oklahoma City. Shooting him was an off-duty Del City police officer, one of two hired to provide security at the game.

“The officer perceived some sort of threat,” Oklahoma County Sheriff Tommie Johnson III said at a news conference in August.

The shooting in Choctaw came after a teenager was fatally shot during an argument in the third quarter. The injured man had been trying to break up the argument, his attorney said.

"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," the attorney, Billy Clark, said.

Neither the deputy marshal nor the Del City police officer have been identified. Their attorney, Gary James, said both clearly were justified in using force.

'What place is sacred anymore?' Shooting at Choctaw football game part of larger trend

"I don't see the need for a grand jury," he said. "I do know that law enforcement officials, including chiefs of police, have concerns and reservations. ... I believe that the district attorney is elected to make decisions."

James said the fleeing woman "came up with a pistol" in her car after she had been stopped. "She was known to be violent and to have weapons," he said.

James has seen videos of the officer-involved shooting at the football game. He said Carter was not intervening in the argument. He said the officer fired when the man turned and approached them with his arm coming up with what they believed to be a weapon.

"Is it reasonable for them to use force in response? Clearly," James said.

"They were in the middle of a chaotic scene where shots have gone out in a crowd of people and children. Both of those officers ran to the gunfire."

He said DNA tests still could determine whether Carter had been armed and dropped the gun after being hit. "There were two guns found on the ground, one in close proximity ... to where he was shot."

Charged as an adult with first-degree murder in the death at the football game is Dayvion Hamilton, 15.

He is accused of killing Cordea Carter, 16, "willfully and with malice aforethought." The victim and the injured man were not related, Clark said.

Potential grand jurors must report Oct. 16, Court Clerk Rick Warren said. His office sent out 99 grand jury summons on Friday.

The grand jury could be busy. The last DA reviewed more than 200 police shootings or other significant police use-of-force incidents in his 16 years in office.

Oklahoma County grand juries are rare. The last one was seated in 2021, for the first time in more than two decades. It investigated the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board.

An Oklahoma County grand jury was seated in 1997 to investigate conspiracy theories about the deadly bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma County grand jury to review police shootings 'moving forward'