Oklahoma grand jury indicts police officer on murder charge

OKLAHOMA CITY – An Oklahoma City grand jury has indicted a police lieutenant on a second-degree murder charge, alleging he wasn’t justified in firing about 60 shots at a road-rage suspect.

The grand jury concluded Thursday that Blackwell Police Department officer John Mitchell, 40, engaged in “imminently dangerous conduct” when he fatally shot Micheal Ann Godsey on May 20 in Blackwell, which is about 90 miles (145 kilometres) north of Oklahoma City.

Police responded to reports of gunfire coming from a white pickup truck at various locations in Blackwell.

According to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, officers say they pursued Godsey’s truck and exchanged gunfire with her before the vehicle came to a stop. Godsey, 34, was found dead in the driver’s seat of the pickup truck. She was the only person in the truck.

Defence attorney Gary James said Mitchell acted lawfully to stop a threat, The Oklahoman reported.

“It’s a sad day for law enforcement and society,” James said, who described as a “violent, fleeing felon.”

James said Mitchell was cleared by an independent internal affairs review of the shooting.

The murder charge carries a sentence of at least 10 years in prison.

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Information from: The Oklahoman, http://www.newsok.com