Jury to deliberate Oklahoma officer’s fate in murder trial

OKLAHOMA CITY – A jury is to begin deliberations Monday in the trial of an Oklahoma City police officer who fatally shot a suicidal man who was apparently trying to set himself on fire.

Attorneys delivered closing statements Friday in the trial of Sgt. Keith Sweeney, who is charged with second-degree murder in the Nov. 15, 2017, death of 29-year-old Dustin Pigeon.

The 34-year-old Sweeney was among officers responding to reports of a suicidal person and found Pigeon doused in lighter fluid and threatening to set himself on fire in a courtyard.

Prosecutors say Sweeney shot Pigeon after another officer fired a bean bag to no effect. An affidavit says Pigeon was unarmed and did not pose a threat when he was shot. Two fellow officers also testified that Pigeon posed no threat.