Photo Courtesy: Facebook/@FOX23SaraWhaley
Two Tulsa County (OK) Deputies assigned to the Mental Health Unit along with a Tulsa Police Officer were forced to shoot a mentally ill man after he went mobile with two knives and attempted to enter a convenient store.
According to a press release, issued by the Tulsa Police Department, approximately 300 citizens gathered after the shooting and some threw rocks and concrete at officers. Many yelled obscenities and threatened responding officers.
The press release details several 911 calls from citizens in the area fearing for their safety. One caller, said “two butcher knives in his hand. . .headed someplace to do some harm to somebody.”
The video, released by the Tulsa Police Department is from the convenient store and shows two employees attempting to lock the door as the man approached with two knives. They were unable to do so and ran away as the man entered the store with knives.
The subject entered the store and as he did, he is seen falling from being shot.
The Chicago Tribune reports that one officer was black. Of course, that means nothing when a subject enters a public business with knives and we do not generally report the race of police officers but others will attempt to make this an issue.
Social media exploded from the Tulsa Incident decrying why officers had to shoot the man with knives but the press release details numerous incidents with the subject where he threatened the lives of officers, sometimes with a weapon, and the police left the scene because he was alone in his home.
The difference today was the public area that the he decided to enter and the protection of the citizens in the community.
We applaud the quick release of information by the Tulsa Police Department and while we know that there is a small group that will never be satisfied, this certainly shows a tremendous effort towards the truth and transparency on behalf of the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office and the Tulsa Police Department.